Details are still coming out about the attack on famous author Salman Rushdie yesterday.
The author who wrote the book Satanic Verses criticizing the Islamic faith in 1988 has faced an Iranian fatwa on him for more than 30 years, and from all appearances, it was finally carried out yesterday in New York by an Iranian American.
From the New York Times:
Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wylie, sent an update on his condition shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, saying Mr. Rushdie was on a ventilator and could not speak. "The news is not good," he said. "Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged."
The violent attack lasted about half a minute according to witnesses.
From Reuters:
Stunned attendees helped wrest the man from Rushdie, who had fallen to the floor. A New York State Police trooper providing security at the event arrested the attacker. Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, who bought a pass to the event.
"A man jumped up on the stage from I don't know where and started what looked like beating him on the chest, repeated fist strokes into his chest and neck," said Bradley Fisher, who was in the audience. "People were screaming and crying out and gasping."
A doctor in the audience helped tend to Rushdie while emergency services arrived, police said. Henry Reese, the event's moderator, suffered a minor head injury. Police said they were working with federal investigators to determine a motive. They did not describe the weapon used.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan described the incident as "appalling." "We're thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping him so swiftly," he wrote on Twitter.
It is absolutely stunning that a religious-based assassination attempt like this could happen on US soil.
Iran has recently taken a more neutral approach to Rushdie, claiming they neither support nor discourage anyone from killing the author.
The threats sent Rushdie into hiding and he was placed under police protection. In 2000, Rushdie re-emerged and moved to the U.S. Two years earlier, Iranian leader Muhammad Khatami said that the government would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie," although some hardliners have continued to call for the author's death.
The religion of peace.
Such tolerance.
The Economic Times of India, Rushdie's home country, have the most details about the attacker.
The alleged attacker has been recognised by police as Hadi Matar. According to the reports, the 24-year-old male is from New Jersey. A law enforcement official with firsthand knowledge of the inquiry told NBC News that Matar's social media posts had initially revealed that he was sympathetic to Shia extremism and the goals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).Despite the lack of any connections between Matar and the IRGC, NBC News reports that law enforcement officials discovered.
Sounds a lot like a pro-Iranian Islamic extremist.
Andy Ngo has a detailed thread on the suspect:
We will continue to update this story as details come out.
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