Author Salman Rushdie On Ventilator, Attacked Got Identified

Salman was stabbed multiple times by attacker Hadi Matar

World's famous author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and abdomen at a literary event in New York, US, on Friday. The 75-year-old author is on a ventilator and could lose an eye. Police have identified his attacker.

Taking notes from the author's agent, Salman Rushdie suffered severe nerves in an arm and damage to his liver and could lose an eye. "The news is not good," Andrew Wylie, his agent, wrote in an email. "Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed and his liver was stabbed and damaged."

During the investigation, the New Jersey Police identified his attacker as Hadi Matar, 24, from New Jersey. "The motive behind the attack remains unclear," officials said.

As per the officials, the 75 years-old, Salman was stabbed multiple times by the attacker Hadi Matar who rushed to the stage and attacked him. Henry Reese, the interviewer, also suffered a head injury in the attack.

The visuals of the crime are circulated all over social media. The visuals captured people rushing to the stage and taking the suspect to the ground before a trooper at the event arrested him.

A doctor in the audience administered medical care until emergency first responders arrived. Mr Rushdie was then airlifted to the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

The attack occurred as Rushdie was about to give a speech at the Chautauqua Institution near New York City, which holds arts programs. There were around 2,500 people in the audience. They were evacuated later.

The New York governor Kathy Hochul condemned the stabbing and hailed Rushdie as "an individual who has spent decades speaking truth to power." "We condemn all violence, and we want people to be able to feel (the) freedom to speak and to write the truth," she said.

Mr Rushdie was propelled into the spotlight with his second novel "Midnight's Children" in 1981, which won international praise and the prestigious Booker Prize.