Author Salman Rushdie Attacked at Chautauqua Institution

New York State Police are investigating an attack on author Salman Rushdie prior to a speaking event at Chautauqua Institution.

Police say a man ran up onto the Amphitheatre Stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer. Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital. His condition is not yet known, but sources state he is alive.

The interviewer, Henry Reese, suffered a minor head injury. A state trooper assigned to the event immediately took the suspect into custody.

Rushdie wrote Satanic Verses. Published in 1988, the author said the book was inspired by the Prophet Mohammed. In 1989, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Supreme Leader of Iran and a Shiite scholar, issued a fatwa calling for the death of Rushdie and his publishers.

Governor Kathy Hochul issued remarks on the incident,

State Senator George Borrello also released a statement condemning the attack, saying, “This shocking attack on a celebrated and noted author, apparently prompted by fundamentalist extremism, has no place in America,” Sen. Borrello said. “The Founding Fathers fled tyranny and knew all too well the dangers of absolutism and religious zealotry. There is no room, in a free society, for beliefs that demand that you kill someone who disagrees with you.”