NY jury hears attacker ‘dangerously close’ to killing Rushdie

MAYVILLE, United States: Prosecutors in the trial of the man accused of attacking Salman Rushdie told jurors Monday that the author came “dangerously close” to dying in a frenzied assault that left him blind in one eye.

Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old Lebanese-American entering court, is charged with attempted murder and assault over the August 12, 2022 attack at an arts event in western New York state. Matar is accused of stabbing Rushdie about 10 times with a knife, leaving him in grave condition and without sight in his right eye, and also slashing another speaker at the gathering.