UPDATE: Salman Rushdie on ventilator after Friday's stabbing attack in New York. His agent says author left with damage to liver, severed nerves in arm and may lose an eye.
Agent says Satanic Verses author has been left with damage to liver, nerves and may lose an eyeAuthor Salman Rushdie stabbed onstage in New YorkSalman Rushdie, author of the controversial novel The Satanic Verses, was attacked by a man on a lecture stage in New York State. Rushdie was rushed to hospital to treat his stab wounds, and the attacker was arrested.
Matar was born in the United States to Lebanese parents who emigrated from Yaroun, a border village in southern Lebanon, Mayor Ali Tehfe told The Associated Press.An Associated Press reporter witnessed a man confront Rushdie as he was being introduced onstage at the Chautauqua Institution and punch or stab him 10 to 15 times. The author was pushed or fell to the floor, and the man was arrested.
Event moderator Henry Reese, 73, a co-founder of an organization that offers residencies to writers facing persecution, was also attacked. Reese suffered a facial injury and was treated and released from a hospital, police said. He and Rushdie were due to discuss the United States as a refuge for writers and other artists in exile.
"This guy ran on to the platform and started pounding on Mr. Rushdie. At first you're like, 'What's going on?' And then it became abundantly clear in a few seconds that he was being beaten."Satanic Verses author Rushdie dismisses latest death threat"We thought perhaps it was part of a stunt to show that there's still a lot of controversy around this author," she said, noting it soon became evident that it was no stunt.
Local police and FBI block the area around the home of suspect Hadi Matar on Morningside Avenue, in Fairview, N.J., on Friday.
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