Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born novelist who spent years in hiding after he was ordered killed by Iran in 1989 because of his writing, was stabbed in the neck as he was about to give a lecture in New York state on Friday, according to police and an eyewitness.
A man rushed to the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and attacked Rushdie as he was being introduced to give a talk on artistic freedom to an audience of hundreds, an eyewitness said. A State Trooper present at the event took the attacker into custody, police said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Rushdie was alive and "getting the care he needs." Rushdie, 75, was taken by helicopter to a hospital but police said his condition was not yet known.