Mayville, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul visited Chautauqua Institution Sunday afternoon, two days after the on-stage 'preplanned' stabbing attack on internationally-acclaimed author Salman Rushdie.
"A man with a knife cannot silence a man with a pen," said Hochul as she assured an extensive investigation was continuing and condemned the attack.
Hochul referenced the state's stronger red flag laws now in place and warned New York would be vigilant in thwarting such acts of violence.
"When there's individuals out there, whether they're in a school, a workplace, in the community, and they give signs that they're going to do harm to themselves or others, we have a responsibility and a right to find out whether they have access to guns. That's how you stop crimes. And we have beefed that up, and that is the law of the land now in the State of New York as well."
Rushdie is "on the road to recovery," his agent confirmed Sunday, two days after the author of "The Satanic Verses" suffered serious injuries in the Chautauqua attack.
The announcement followed news that the lauded writer was removed from a ventilator Saturday and able to talk. Literary agent Andrew Wylie cautioned that although Rushdie's "condition is headed in the right direction," his recovery would be long. Rushdie, 75, suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and in an eye that he was likely to lose, Wylie had previously said.
"Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humour remains intact," Rushdie's son Zafar Rushdie said in a Sunday statement that stressed the author remained in critical condition. The family statement also expressed gratitude for the "audience members who bravely leapt to his defence," as well as police, doctors and "the outpouring of love and support."
President Joe Biden addressed the Rushdie attack in a weekend statement as well.
"Salman Rushdie — with his insight into humanity, with his unmatched sense for story, with his refusal to be intimidated or silenced — stands for essential, universal ideals," said Biden. "Truth. Courage. Resilience. The ability to share ideas without fear."
Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called "a targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack"
A state trooper and a county sheriff's deputy were assigned to Rushdie's lecture, and police said the trooper made the arrest. But afterward, some longtime visitors to the bucolic vacation colony questioned why there wasn't tighter security given the history of threats against Rushdie.
On Sunday, Hochul and the New York State Police vowed an increased security detail and plan for events at Chautauqua as a result of the Rushdie attack.
