Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses, has been attacked on stage in New York state.

On Friday, Mr Rushdie was speaking at an event at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York when a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Mr Rushdie and an interviewer.

“At about 11 am, a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer. Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital,” the police statement said.

Mr Rushdie was taken by helicopter to a local hospital, the state police said in a statement. His condition is not yet known. 

Mr Rushdie emerged onto the public literary scene with his book, Midnight’s Children in 1981, which sold over one million copies in the United Kingdom alone and won him The Booker Prize. However, his fourth book in 1988, called The Satanic Verses, sent him into hiding for nine years.

The novel sparked outrage among some Muslims, who considered its content to be blasphemous, and was banned in some Islamic countries. In 1989, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini had called for Mr Rushdie’s execution and offered a $3m (£2.5m) reward.

In 2007, he was knighted in the UK, an event which saw sparked protests in several countries in the Muslim world.

Mr Rushdie currently lives in the United States and had been placed under police protection due to threats to his life.