Investigators Hunt for Motivation and Movements of Man Accused in Rushdie Attack

After author Salman Rushdie was stabbed Friday at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York, state and federal investigators are trying to determine the suspect’s motives, plans, communication and movements when he Rushdie remained in a precarious position on Saturday.

Mr. Rushdie, who has spent decades under Iran’s ban, is on a ventilator after undergoing hours of surgery and unable to speak, Andrew Wylie, his representative, said in an email on Thursday night. Six. Attempts to reach Mr Wylie on Saturday were unsuccessful.

Mr Wylie said Friday that the author’s condition was “not good.” Rushdie could have lost an eye, damaged his liver and severed nerves in his arm, he said.

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on Saturday said he was appalled by the attack on the author, who decades ago became a symbol of freedom of expression in the face of public criticism. suppress.

Mr Guterres said in a statement: “Under no circumstances should violence be a response to the words or writings of others when they exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression.

The New York State Police said at a news conference Friday afternoon that there was no indication of a motive, but that they were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old New Jersey man, was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder and assault, New York State Police said. He is being held at the Chautauqua County Jail, where he will be placed on Saturday, according to officials.

A video on TikTok that was later taken down showed the chaos on Friday, shortly after the attacker had jumped on stage at the usual center for intellectual speech. Mr. Rushdie, who has lived a relatively open life after many years of being semi-hidden, was just sitting in his chair to talk when a man attacked him.

A crowd of people immediately ran to the author lying on the stage to ask for help. Members of the stunned audience could be seen throughout the entire auditorium. While some were shouting, others stood up and moved slowly towards the stage. People began to gather in the aisles. One can be heard shouting repeatedly “Oh, my God”.

A deputy and another law enforcement officer with a dog ran to the scene about a minute later.

In a statement Friday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan called the attack on Mr Rushdie “reprehensible.”

“This act of violence is appalling,” he said.

State police did not provide an update on Mr Rushdie’s condition on Saturday morning. A spokesman for a hospital in Erie, Pa., where Mr. Rushdie is being treated, said it would not provide information on the patient’s condition.

At a home listed as Mr. Matar’s residence in Fairview, NJ, no one answered the door Saturday morning. A woman in a gray Jeep Rubicon in the driveway held her window up, waving to reporters as she sped away. Many of Matar’s neighbors said they did not know him.

Antonio Lopa, who lives across from Mr. Matar, said he saw between 10 and 15 FBI agents outside Matar’s home on Friday afternoon. They stayed until almost 1:30 a.m., he said.

Officials said at a news conference Friday that they were working to obtain a search warrant for a backpack and electronic devices found at the educational facility.

Mr. Rushdie has lived under the threat of an assassination since 1989, about six months after the publication of his novel “Satan’s Verses”. The book fictionalized portions of the Prophet Muhammad’s life with descriptions that offended some Muslims, who believed the novel was blasphemous. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led Iran after the 1979 revolution, issued a decree known as a fatwa on February 14, 1989. It ordered Muslims to kill Mr. Rushdie.

In 1991, the novel’s Japanese translator was stabbed to death and its Italian translator was seriously injured. The Norwegian publisher of this novel was shot three times in 1993 outside his home in Oslo and seriously injured.

Elizabeth Harris, Chelsia Rose Marcius and Farnaz Fassihi contribution report.