The Indian-born British author, 75, whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was due to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Foundation when the incident occurred, leaving him with an apparent stab wound to the neck. He is on a ventilator and may lose an eye and has nerve damage in his arm and liver, according to the New York Times. On Friday, New York State Police named the suspected shooter as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, who was taken into custody following the incident. Since the suspect was identified, people on social media have speculated whether the attack was linked to Iran’s former leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who had previously issued a fatwa calling for his death. The call was issued following the publication of his book The Satanic Verses, which has been banned in Iran since 1988 as many Muslims consider it blasphemous.
