Rushdie’s agent, Andrew Wylie, has told the New York Times that the writer was on a ventilator Friday evening and could not speak.
He said “Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged; the news is not good.”
State Police Troop Commander, Major Eugene J. Staniszewski said in a Friday evening news conference that the suspect was identified as Hadi Matar, 24, from Fairview, New Jersey.
Police are working with the FBI and local authorities to determine the motive.
Staniszewski said authorities are also working to obtain search warrants for several items found at the scene, including a backpack and electronic devices.
Henry Reese, co-founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit City of Asylum, who was scheduled to join Rushdie in discussion, was taken to a hospital and treated for a facial injury and released, state police said.