India-born author Salman Rushdie stabbed in neck on stage in New York; undergoes surgery

Shortly thereafter, the suspect jumped on the stage and attacked Rushdie, stabbing him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen.Staniszewski said several members of the staff at the institution and audience members rushed towards the suspect and took him to the ground. He said Rushdie was provided medical treatment by a doctor who was in the audience until medical personnel arrived on scene.

Salman Rushdie, the Mumbai-born controversial author who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing ''The Satanic Verses'', was stabbed and suffered multiple wounds to the neck and is in surgery after a man stormed the stage as he was about to deliver a lecture during an event here on Friday.

Rushdie (75), who won the Booker Prize for his novel ''Midnight's Children'', was stabbed by the man on stage while he was being introduced at the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.

Hadi Matar (24) from Fairview, New Jersey has been identified as the suspect who attacked Rushdie, Major Eugene Staniszewski of the New York State Police told a news conference in the evening.

He said approximately at 10:47 am local time, Rushdie and his interviewer, Henry Reese (73), arrived on stage at the Chautauqua Institution. Shortly thereafter, the suspect jumped on the stage and attacked Rushdie, ''stabbing him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen''.

Staniszewski said several members of the staff at the institution and audience members rushed towards the suspect and took him to the ground. He said Rushdie was provided medical treatment by a doctor who was in the audience until medical personnel arrived on scene. Rushdie was airlifted to a local trauma centre and is ''still undergoing surgery''.