Hadi Matar, the person suspected of attacking author Salman Rushdie at a gathering in New York state, has reportedly been charged with attempted murder and is currently being held without release, according to the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s office. Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, was charged with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault, according to a Reuters report. The county’s district attorney, Jason Schmidt, confirmed this in a statement.
According to the report, Schmidt stated that local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities, including those in New Jersey, were attempting to comprehend the planning and preparation that led up to the attack and determine whether more charges ought to be brought.
Meanwhile, Chautauqua County Executive Paul Wendel issued a statement expressing condolences to Rushdie’s family and friends on behalf of the citizens of Chautauqua County, according to a report from the news agency PTI. “The small tranquil community of the Chautauqua Institution has been shaken to its core by an act of violence, which has reverberated across Chautauqua County and Western New York. It is disappointing that we live in a society where we cannot listen to the differences of others, especially in a place like the Institution where thinkers and problem solvers from around the world come to share their stories,” he remarked.
It was not immediately clear if Matar, who purchased a ticket to the performance at Chautauqua Institution in western New York, had legal counsel. According to NBC New York, a preliminary investigation by law authorities into Matar’s social media profiles revealed that he was sympathetic to Shi’ite extremism and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to the NBC New York story, Matar was born in California and recently relocated to New Jersey. He also had a false driver’s licence on him.