Details emerge about Salman Rushdie stabbing suspect as author remains hospitalized with "serious" wounds - CBS News

The man accused of carrying out a stabbing attack against "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie has entered a not-guilty plea in a New York court on charges of attempted murder and assault.

Matar was arraigned Friday night and remanded without bail, he said.

Matar is accused of attacking Rushdie on Friday as the author was being introduced at a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute.

Rushdie's agent said Friday night that the author is currently on a ventilator and cannot speak.

"We are working closely with State Police, our local police agencies and federal law enforcement partners to fully develop the evidence," Schmidt said Saturday.

"We have been in touch with our counterparts in the State of New Jersey where the attacker is from to share information and assist them in helping us to better understand the planning and preparation which preceded the attack so that we and the different agencies involved can determine what, if any, additional charges should be asserted.".

The motive for the attack was unclear, State Police Maj.

WNY News Now captured video of Matar being transferred to the Chautauqua County jail late Friday night from the New York State Police barracks in Jamestown.

In Tehran, some Iranians interviewed Saturday by the AP praised the attack on an author they believe tarnished the Islamic faith, while others worried it would further isolate their country.

An AP reporter witnessed the attacker confront Rushdie on stage and stab or punch him 10 to 15 times as the author was being introduced.

A state trooper and a county sheriff's deputy were assigned to Rushdie's lecture, and state police said the trooper made the arrest.

But after the attack, some longtime visitors to the center questioned why there wasn't tighter security for the event, given the decades of threats against Rushdie and a bounty on his head offering more than $3 million to anyone who killed him.

New video shows the chaos moments after notable author Salman Rushdie was stabbed.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday's attack, which led an evening news bulletin on Iranian state television.

In a statement Saturday, President Biden said he and the first lady were "shocked and saddened" to learn of the attack, and said that "together with all Americans and people around the world, are praying for his health and recovery.".

Rushdie so quickly after the attack and to law enforcement for its swift and effective work, which is ongoing.".

"Our thoughts are with Salman & his loved ones following this horrific event," New York Governor Kathy Hochul tweeted after the attack.

Rushdie was once president of the group, which advocates for writers and free expression.

After the publication of "The Satanic Verses," often-violent protests erupted across the Muslim world against Rushdie, who was born in India to a Muslim family.

The death threats and bounty led Rushdie to go into hiding under a British government protection program, which included a round-the-clock armed guard.

An AP journalist who went to the Tehran office of the 15 Khordad Foundation, which put up the millions for the bounty on Rushdie, found it closed Friday night on the Iranian weekend.