The video shows the chaotic minutes after the attack in Chautauqua, New York, on Friday, which left the 75-year-old author critically injured. The alleged attacker, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, is restrained and pinned to the ground as people rush to Sir Salman’s aid. The author remains on a ventilator and may lose an eye, said his agent, Andrew Wylie. He also suffered severed nerves in his hand and damage to his liver. Image: Hadi Matar being held outside the Chautauqua Foundation. Photo: AP Read more: Who is Hadi Matar? What we know so far World reacts as Satanic Verses author stabbed in New York state Moderator Henry Rees suffered a minor head injury after he was also attacked, officers said. The suspect acted alone The motive for the attack is not yet known, but police believe the suspect acted alone. “The individual responsible for the attack, Hadi Matar, has been formally charged with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault,” said Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt. Both state and federal authorities are considering whether additional charges should be added, he said. According to NBC News, which cited a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation, a preliminary review of Matar’s social media showed he had sympathies for Shiite extremism and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. FBI officials went to his last known address, in Fairview, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, on Friday night, according to NBC New York. Image: Police cordoned off the area around Hadi Matar’s home in Fairview, New Jersey on Friday. Photo: AP “Relatively normal” life Sir Salman was forced into hiding for years and received threats on his life after the publication in 1988 of his book The Satanic Verses, which was considered by some Muslims to contain blasphemous passages. A fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to kill him was issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian leader, a year later. Just two weeks before the attack, Sir Salman said that after years in hiding and threats to his life his life was now “relatively normal”. Speaking to German magazine Stern, he described himself as an optimist, saying that when it comes to his own life: “I prefer to look forward.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:21 Rushdie in 2017: “Enough” threats end Sir Salman was introducing himself to the audience before giving a lecture at the Chautauqua Foundation in New York state when a man stormed the stage and stabbed or punched him 10 to 15 times, according to witnesses. The author was airlifted to a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was going to give a speech about freedom of expression and the United States as a safe haven for writers. Sir Salman lives in New York and became a US citizen in 2016. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:45 Rushdie airlifted after being stabbed. “A Thousand Braves” The attack shocked and horrified fellow writers and world leaders, who spoke of Sir Salman as a symbol of free speech. In Iran there was no official comment from the regime – but several hard-line Iranian newspapers praised the attack. “A thousand thumbs up… to the brave and obedient person who attacked the renegade and evil Salman Rushdie in New York,” Kayhan newspaper reported. “The hand of the man that tore the throat of the enemy of God must be kissed.” Another publication, the Khorasan newspaper, had the headline: “Satan on the Road to Hell.”
