(MENAFN) Salman Rushdie, a writer, was stabbed on Friday, leaving him in serious condition. On Saturday, Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old New Jersey resident, was charged in New York with attempted second-degree murder.
“The individual responsible for the attack yesterday, Hadi Matar, has now been formally charged with attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree,” Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt stated in an announcement.
“He was arraigned on these charges last night and remanded without bail,” Schmidt went on saying, highlighting that state and federal authorities are thinking whether to apply additional fees.
Rushdie was attacked on Friday at the Chautauqua Institution when he was giving a speech on freedom of expression. The suspect was armed with a knife. According to witnesses, the 75-year-old Indian-born British-American novelist was stabbed 10 to 15 times in the neck and body.
Rushdie was flown to the hospital, where he is still being ventilated.
Matar, a 24-year-old New Jersey resident, was taken into custody right away. While a reason for the stabbing has not been revealed, FBI agents later investigated Matar's last-known residence. According to a number of news sources, Matar had posted on social media in favor of Iran, its military, and "Shia radicalism more generally."
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