Suspect in Rushdie’s stabbing showed sympathy to causes of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards: Report
India Today
Rushdie, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.
The 24-year-old man detained in connection with the stabbing of Mumbai-born controversial author Salman Rushdie was sympathetic to "Shia extremism" and the causes of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a media report.
Rushdie, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.
The New York State Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar from Fairview, New Jersey while the motive behind the act is still unknown.
The suspect ran up onto the stage prior to a speaking event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua and attacked 75-year-old Rushdie.
According to the law enforcement authorities, the author was stabbed "at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen.”
Rushdie was rushed to a nearby local hospital where he underwent surgery, while the attacker was taken into the New York State Police custody. The interviewer with Rushdie was also attacked during the incident and he suffered a minor head injury, the police said.
Authorities were still looking into Matar's nationality and his criminal records, if any.
