Suspect Allegedly Involved in Salman Rushdie's Stabbing Charged with Attempted Murder and Assault

Mar. 15, 2025

Salman Rushdie.Photo: David Levenson/Getty

The 24-year-old man who allegedly attackedSalman Rushdiein upstate New York on Friday has been charged with attempted murder and assault — both in the second degree — according to multiple outlets.

Hadi Matar, who is currently in custody without bail in the Chautauqua County Jail, is expected to be arraigned on Saturday, officials said, perNBC News,CNN, andThe New York Post, which cited the Chautauqua County District Attorney.

The organization said in a statement that they have been in contact with local prosecutors in New Jersey, where Matar is from, “to better understand the planning and preparation which preceded the attack,” as well as determine if any additional charges should be asserted, the outlets said.

“We will try to be as transparent as we can without compromising the case,” the statement added.

The Chautauqua County District Attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

For more on Salman Rushdie, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

The author has since been placed on a ventilator and cannot speak, his literary agent Andrew Wylie toldThe New York Timesin an update on his condition after the incident.

“The news is not good,” said Wiley. “Salman will likely lose one eye, the nerves in his arm were severed, and his liver was stabbed and damaged.”

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

New York State Policetook Matar into custody after the attack, according to theAssociated Press. Investigating with the FBI and the local sheriff’s office, authorities requested a search warrant for a backpack and electronic devices found at the Chautauqua Institution.

The novel, which featured a fictional interpretation of the Prophet Mohammed and the Quran, drew backlash from the Muslim community. Khomeini, who died later in 1989, per theLos Angeles Times, subsequently issued a fatwā (a ruling on Islamic law) for his assassination, offering a bounty for whoever killed him.

Rushdie went into hiding for nearly a decade until the Iranian government said in 1998 that it would no longer enforce the fatwā, although it remained active.

source: people.com