Salman Rushdie off ventilator after attack, suspect held without bail - USA TODAY

CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. – Salman Rushdie, "The Satanic Verses” author who was stabbed Friday as he prepared to give a lecture in upstate New York, has been taken off a ventilator and is able to talk.

The USA TODAY best-selling writer, whose work has previously led to death threats, suffered wounds to the neck and abdomen when an assailant attacked him as he was about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.

New York police said a state trooper assigned to the event took a suspect into custody after the attack.

In a news conference Friday afternoon, the suspect was identified as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, according to New York State Police Maj. Eugene Staniszewski.

On Saturday, the The Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education center said it was boosting security through measures such as requiring photo IDs to purchase gate passes.

Patrons entering the amphitheater where Rushdie was attacked will also be barred from carrying bags.

Kathy Hochul said in a statement that Rushdie "is an individual who has spent decades speaking truth to power.

The Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education center, "is currently coordinating with law enforcement and emergency officials on a public response," according to a statement sent to USA TODAY.

Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to defend free expression through the advancement of literature and human rights, said in an emailed statement Friday that Rushdie had been "targeted for his words.”.

"PEN America is reeling from shock and horror at word of a brutal, premeditated attack on our former President and stalwart ally, Salman Rushdie," Nossel said.

Colleen Lough, 65, of Grosse Ile, Michigan, visited Chautauqua for the first time this week and was seated about 20 rows from the stage where Rushdie was attacked

Hill, president of the Chautauqua Institution, said at Friday's news conference that the attack would not influence how the center chooses its speakers.