Controversial author Salman Rushdie has been transported to a hospital after being knocked to the floor during a lecture.
The New York Times reported that he was attacked and stabbed in the neck while onstage in western New York for a lecture.
The state police said in a statement that he was taken to a local hospital by helicopter.
The Times noted his condition is not yet known.
Videos and photos of the incident were posted on Twitter by users.
BREAKING: Author Salman Rushdie stabbed on stage before a lecture in New York pic.twitter.com/vjhG9HMh0g
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 12, 2022
UPDATE: Salman Rushdie has been transported to the hospital via helicopter. His condition is unknown, per New York State Police.pic.twitter.com/ycR4TnZT2b
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) August 12, 2022
Pictures circulating show the Salman Rushdie being wheeled away on a stretcher after he was stabbed in New York, contrary to some reports he walked off stage, and the perpetrator being arrested. pic.twitter.com/eMy4t5RvGt
— Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) August 12, 2022
A member of the audience, Rita Landman, told the Times there was a pool of blood under Rushdie’s neck.
“People were saying, ‘He has a pulse, he has a pulse he has a pulse,'” Landman said.
One witness, Bill Vasu, explained that several people rushed to help the author and put the attacker on the ground.
Elisabeth Healey, another member of the audience, said, “There was just one attacker.”
She added, “He was dressed in black. He had a loose black garment on. He ran with lightning speed over to him.”
Rushdie sparked controversy after publishing his book in 1988 titled, “The Satanic Verses.”
The Associated Press noted many Muslims believed the book was blasphemous.
Iran banned the novel and the late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie’s death.
According to a description of the book on Amazon, “Set in a modern world filled with both mayhem and miracles, the story begins with a bang: the terrorist bombing of a London-bound jet in midflight.”
The description continues, “Two Indian actors of opposing sensibilities fall to earth, transformed into living symbols of what is angelic and evil. This is just the initial act in a magnificent odyssey that seamlessly merges the actual with the imagined. A book whose importance is eclipsed only by its quality, The Satanic Verses is a key work of our times.”
