UPDATE - NY police says suspect of author Salman Rushdie attack under custody

UPDATES WITH DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, THROUGHOUT

By Michael Hernandez and Beyza Binnur Donmez

WASHINGTON/ANKARA (AA) - The suspect, who attacked author Salman Rushdie on stage in New York state, was taken into custody, New York State Police said on Friday.

Pictures posted on social media showed Rushdie, whose works have prompted death threats, lying on stage at the Chautauqua Institution as police and bystanders attempted to provide first aid. His condition was not immediately clear. Footage also posted to social media showed bystanders rushing to the stage in the immediate wake of the incident.

The attack took place ahead of a lecture he was about to present.

The author suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck and was transported to a hospital, NY State Police said in a statement, adding that his "condition is not yet known."

An interviewer also suffered a minor head injury, the state police added.

Rushdie is the author of several novels that won widespread acclaim, including Midnight's Children, which won the Booker Prize in 1981. His book, "The Satanic Verses," was the subject of controversy seven years later, with late Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwah calling for his death over the novel.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khomeini's successor, had a tweet deleted in 2019 which said the fatwah remained in place.