Author Salman Rushdie was at the Chautauqua Institute this morning to give a speech, but before he began someone came on stage and attacked him.

Salman Rushdie is an author who is no stranger to death threats.  According to the Daily Beast, he has not only received death threats and a fatwa for his assassination by the former religious leader of Iran but also has a $3 million bounty on his head.  It remains active to this day mostly due to one of his books "The Satantic Verses" which was released in 1988.  It is a book that some found to be blasphemous.

He was set to give a lecture today at the Chautauqua Institute but shortly after being introduced was attacked on stage.  Witnesses say that a heavy-set man wearing a black headpiece rushed the stage.  While many thought he was initially punching Rushdie, they quickly realized that it was more than that.

(I initially thought he was)“punching Rushdie, but then I realized he was stabbing him.” - Ward Pautler, witness to the scene

Rushdie was then surrounded by a group of people who came to tend to him.  He suffered stab wounds to his neck.  The audience was immediately evacuated from the building. Rushdie was then rushed by helicopter to the hospital. His condition at this time is unknown.

The man who rushed the stage was restrained and is currently in police custody. He has not yet been identified. This is a breaking story.  We will add more here when more information is available.

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