An attack on author Salman Rushdie75, stabbed several times during a speaking engagement at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York, shocked the world. A suspect, New Jersey resident Hadi Matar, has been taken into custody and has pleaded not guilty including attempted second-degree murder. The Booker Prize-winning writer – whose 1988 novel The Devil’s Verses resulted in a fatwa imposed on him by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini – is currently in critical condition at a Pennsylvania hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries, including three stab wounds to the right side of the front of his neck, four stab wounds wounds to his stomach, a stab wound to his right eye, a stab wound to his chest and a laceration to his right thigh, according to Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt.
Present at the attack were Tim Roche, a Marvel Comics editor, and his wife, Abby Schwarzwalder, showrunner for Jay Leno’s Garagewho share their eyewitness account with The Hollywood Reporter.
What was the Chautauqua event and why were you there?
Tim Roche: We came to Chautauqua for a week. Chautauqua has a summer program with lectures and discussion on various topics. This week’s topic was about how housing and the home have changed in America.
Abby Schwarzwalder: We go for a week every year and see the likes of Dan Liever and W. Kamau Bell, as well as opera and ballet performances. It should be some kind of meditative time. It started out as a school for Sunday school teachers and that’s how it still feels a bit healthy. Each week has a different theme and Salman Rushdie talked about life in exile. It’s ironic because he was there to discuss protecting writers who are being persecuted. It was the main event of the day and it was held in the large amphitheater which is an indoor-outdoor kind of thing.
Where were you in relation to the podium and the attack?
Roche: Lectures are given in an open-air amphitheater that seats about 1000 people. My wife, in-laws and I were seated about half way up the center of the amphitheater – probably about 40 or 50 rows up.
How many people were in the room?
Roche: This was the keynote speaker of the week, so the room was quite full at the time. I would say about 3/4 full.
What happened immediately before the attack?
Roche: The people were settling down just before the lecture. Salman and the moderator received a small ovation as they came out to sit on two chairs in the center of the stage. a third person [emerged] to introduce them both.
Can you describe the attack?
Roche: The attack was extremely surreal. At that moment I had turned my head to see where my wife was when I heard the woman screaming behind me. As I turned, I saw a man enter from the podium on the left, dressed in mostly dark black and gray, waving at Mr Rushdie. You could see blood coming out of the scrum. It seemed from my point of view that Salman, the attacker and the moderator were falling past the chairs they were sitting on with all three on the floor.
Then the stage was full of people. It looked like there was a security guard, but mostly it looked like regulars. It immediately turned into chaos when the attacker was nailed to the ground. Most of the action fell behind the stage, with a “Chautauqua” sign leading us to Mr. Rushdie couldn’t see.
The person who was supposed to introduce them then ran off stage to get help. The whole amphitheater was in complete shock and there was much screaming of fear. Such a thing was not even thought possible. A few minutes after I thought I saw Mr Rushdie get up and be escorted – but it turned out to be the moderator who was slightly injured. It turned out that Mr Rushdie was lying on the floor and being looked after. Shortly after, another woman stepped onto the stage and tried to quietly get people to leave.
Looking back, it took me a while to fully understand what was going on. I almost thought it was a joke until I saw blood. Like I said, within seconds the stage was full of people trying to help. Then I quickly scanned behind me to see where my wife was. She stood on top of the amphitheater. You just can’t imagine anything happening in a place like this. Safety hasn’t even crossed my mind yet.
Black Forest: What I remember most was how aggressive and frantic the attacker was. He leaned over the seated Rushdie and his arm kept swinging up and down on him so quickly. I’ve never seen anything like it. And then they were overrun with people. I was quite proud of how fast some of these old men [in the audience] responded. I heard one of the people running to Rushdie’s defense was in his eighties. The [rest of the] audience looked on in amazement. Some people started to cry. It was so crazy.
Can you describe the attacker?
Roche: As I mentioned, the attacker was dressed in dark colors – black and gray – and appeared to be wearing a mask.
Was anything said – by the attacker, Rushdie or anyone else present?
Roche: A lot of fearful shouting and condemnation from the public.
What do you remember of what followed?
Roche: We were in the room for what appeared to be about five minutes before being asked to leave.
Have you seen paramedics go to Rushdie?
Roche: Mr Rushdie was kept behind the plates while he was being cared for. We did see the helicopter come and land, but we never saw it [flown out]. We were already out of the amphitheater by then.