Author Salman Rushdie, who spent years in hiding and under police protection after Iranian officials sought his execution, was attacked and stabbed in the neck Friday while on stage at Chautauqua, near Erie, in the in western New York, state police said.
The attack, which shook the literary world, took place around 11 a.m. shortly after Mr. Rushdie, 75, took the stage for a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, a community of ‘west New York that offers artistic and literary programming during the summer.
Mr. Rushdie was taken by helicopter to a local hospital, state police said in a statement. His condition is not yet known. His agent, Andrew Wylie, said in an email on Friday afternoon that Mr Rushdie was undergoing surgery.
It was unclear what motivated the attacker.
Linda Abrams of the Buffalo area, who was sitting in the front row, said the assailant kept trying to attack Mr. Rushdie even after he was held back. “They picked five men to take him away and he was still stabbing,” he said. “I was just furious, furious. Like intensely loud and fast.”
Rita Landman, an endocrinologist in the audience, said Mr. Rushdie had several stab wounds, including one to the right side of his neck, and that there was a pool of blood under his body. But she said he appeared to be alive. “People were saying, ‘He’s got dust, he’s got dust, he’s got dust,'” Ms. Landman said.
Mr. Rushdie was treated moments after the attack. Credit… Joshua Goodman/Associated Press
Suzanne Nossel, executive director of PEN America, which promotes free speech, said “we can think of no comparable incident of a public attack on a literary writer on American soil.”
“A few hours before the attack, on Friday morning, Salman had emailed me to help with placements for Ukrainian writers who needed a safe haven from the grave dangers they face,” he said. say in a statement. “Salman Rushdie has been the target of his words for decades, but he has never flinched or wavered.”
Mr Rushdie spent about 10 years under police protection, living in hiding after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s supreme leader after the 1979 Iranian revolution, called for his execution in 1989 because his novel the “Satanic verses” were considered offensive to Islam. The book was banned in India, where he was born, and he was banned from the country for more than a decade.
Mr. Rushdie had just taken the stage to deliver the morning lecture in the 4,000-seat amphitheater of the Chautauqua institution, a gated community that features arts and literary programming each summer, when he was attacked, witnesses said.
He was there for a discussion about the United States as a safe haven for exiled writers and other artists under threat of persecution. The conversation was scheduled to be moderated by Henry Reese, the co-founder of a Pittsburgh nonprofit, City of Asylum, which is a residency program for exiled writers.
Mr Rushdie had just sat down and was being introduced when the assailant rushed the stage and assaulted him.
“I saw his fists hitting Salman,” said one witness, Bill Vasu, 72.
A number of people rushed to help Mr. Rushdie, said Mr. Vasu, and quickly pinned the attacker to the ground.
An officer assigned to the event arrested the assailant, police said. The person who interviewed Mr. Rushdie also suffered a minor head injury.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Twitter that she had ordered state police to assist in the investigation and that “our thoughts are with Salman and his loved ones following this horrific event.”
Several witnesses said the attacker was able to easily reach Mr. Rushdie, running onto the stage and approaching him from behind. “There was only one attacker,” said Elisabeth Healey, 75, who was in the audience. “He was dressed in black. He wore a loose black garment. He ran with the speed of lightning towards him.”
“It was very scary and it made me sick to my stomach,” said Jane Bulette, 68, who has been coming for more than a decade. “How could they not have blocked the stage stairs?”
“There was a huge security lapse,” said Ms. Bulette, John, 85, who witnessed the attack. “That someone could get that close without any intervention was terrifying.”
Kyle Doershuk, 20, was working as an usher at the amphitheater at the time of the attack. He said he was about 15 meters away from the assailant when he began rushing the stage with a knife, after dropping a backpack. By the time Mr. Doershuk realized something was wrong, the attack had begun.
Mr. Doershuk said security at the Institution is lax and there did not appear to be any additional measures in place for Mr. Rushdie. “It’s very open, it’s very accessible, it’s a very relaxed atmosphere,” he said. “In my opinion, something like this was waiting to happen.”
“The Satanic Verses” was considered blasphemous by some Muslims because it fictionalized part of the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989 ordering Muslims to kill Mr Rushdie.
The Iranian government publicly supported the fatwa for 10 years, at least until 1998, when Iran’s president, Mohammad Khatami, said Iran no longer supported the killing. But the fatwa remains in place, reportedly with a reward from an Iranian religious foundation of about $3.3 million as of 2012.
Mr. Rushdie published a memoir, “Joseph Anton,” about the fatwa. The title comes from the pseudonym he used while in hiding, taken from the first names of Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov.
In recent years, Mr. Rushdie has enjoyed a more public life in New York City. In 2019, he spoke at a private club in Manhattan to promote his novel, “Quixotte.” Security at the event was relaxed and Mr. Rushdie mingled with the guests freely and then dined with the club members.
Jay Root reported from Chautauqua, New York, David Gelles reported from Putnam Valley, New York, and Elizabeth Harris reported from New York City.