Rushdie is on a ventilator and may lose an eye, the agent says
The latest from Salman Rushdie’s attack in New York comes directly from the hospital and is on a ventilator, unable to speak, and may lose an eye, his agent.
“The news is not good,” Andrew Wylie, Rushdie’s agent, said Friday evening. “Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed, and his liver was stabbed and damaged.”
Witnesses tell of the attack on Salman Rushdie
The Chautauqua summer arts festival in upstate New York is normally a calm and pleasant affair, drawing thousands of literary-minded people eager to commune with their favourite writers.
That all changed in a matter of seconds as the attack on Salman Rushdie unfolded.
The controversial novelist Salman Rushdie, who had just walked onto a stage to give a lecture, was stabbed by a man wielding a knife.
Transforming the faculty-lounge atmosphere into blood and chaos. The shocking events unfolded in seconds and stunned onlookers.
Latest from Salman Rushdie’s attack
French president Macron says Rushie was a symbol of freedom.
Salman Rushdie, who has been targeted for death over accusations that his controversial novel The Satanic Verses is blasphemous, was sitting in a chair on the stage as a panellist introduced him and his work. A man dressed in black rushed to the stage and attacked Rushdie.
“I could just see his fists sort of pounding on Salman,” a witness, Bill Vasu, told the New York Times.
The attacker has been identified
Following the attack on Salman Rushdie he was airlifted to a hospital and is undergoing surgery for his injuries, officials say, which include wounds to the neck and abdomen. Authorities have not released more information on his condition, though a doctor at the event described Rushdie’s wounds as “serious, but recoverable”. The event moderator was also attacked and suffered a facial injury.
Police have identified the suspect as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old from New Jersey who purchased a ticket for the event. Authorities believe he was suffering from mental health problems and acted alone and have not yet found any indication of his motive.
Stay tuned to WTX News USA for the latest from Salman Rushdie’s attack.
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