We'll soon be pausing our live page covering the attack on Salman Rushdie.

Here's a reminder of what happened today:

• British author Salman Rushdie, 75, has been stabbed on stage at an event in New York state
• Police have named the suspected attacker as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey
• Rushdie is still undergoing surgery. His condition is currently unknown.
• Salman, whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution when the incident happened

Updates were brought to you by Emily McGarvey, James Fitzgerald, Bernd Debusmann, Nathan Williams and Dulcie Lee.

BBC Newscast presenter, Adam Fleming and culture correspondent Katie Razzle have been discussed the attack on the British author Salman Rushdie, in the programme's latest episode.

The duo talk about the events which led to the Booker Prize Winner receiving years of Islamist death threats following the publication of his novel, The Satanic Verses, in 1989.

Listen to the full episode here

The police press conference has come to an end. Here's what we know:

• The suspect in the attack has been identified as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey
• Rushdie is still undergoing surgery at a local trauma centre

• Police say they have no indication for a motive behind the attack but are working with the FBI to determine the cause
• The suspect, Hadi Matar, had an access pass for the event and attended alone
• Police are working to determine the charges against Matar
• The suspect jumped on stage, stabbed Rushdie in the neck at least once and in the abdomen at least once

• Police had no indication there were any previous threats before the event where Rushdie was attacked

Police say the suspect had an access pass for the event where Rushdie was attacked.

The venue was rendered safe by a bomb squad and police say they are awaiting a further search warrant.

Police are also working to determine the charges against the suspect, Hadi Matar, who attacked Rushdie.

The suspect who has been arrested, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, accessed the grounds the way any other event goer did, police say.

The suspect jumped on stage, stabbed Salman Rushdie in the neck at least once and in the abdomen at least once, police say.

People in the centre rushed the suspect and took him ground, and he was later taken into police custody.

Police have no indication of the motive but are working with the FBI and the sheriff's office to determine the motive of the attack.

Police say they assume the attacker was at the event alone but are working to confirm that.

Police says Rushdie was initially given medical treatment by a doctor who was in the audience at the event at the Chautauqua Institution, then airlifted to a local trauma centre and is still currently undergoing surgery

The interviewer of the event, who was also attacked by Hadi Matar, was taken to hospital and treated for facial injury, police add.

State police confirm the attacker of Salman Rushdie in Chautauqua County is Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview New Jersey.

New York State Police have started a press conference following the attack on Salman Rushdie.

We're expecting to hear from the New York State Police soon, as they give a press conference following the attack on Salman Rushdie.

Stay with us for updates.

Motivation behind Salman Rushdie stabbing unknownpublished at 21:44 British Summer Time 12 August 2022

21:44 BST 12 August 2022

Aleem Maqbool
Religion editor

Though we do not know the motivation of Salman Rushdie's attacker, the author has faced death threats for more than 30 years since the publication of The Satanic Verses.

Rushdie said the main thrust of his novel was to examine the immigrant experience, but some Muslims were offended by portrayals of the Prophet Muhammed and the questioning of the nature of the revelation of the Quran as the word of God.

The Satanic Verses was banned first in the author's country of birth, India, and then several other countries before Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued his infamous fatwa.

The fatwa called for the killing of anyone involved in the publication of the book and offered rewards to those who took part in the murders. That fatwa has never formally been rescinded.

Surprised by the widespread nature of the protests, Salman Rushdie apologised to Muslims but went into hiding for much of the next 10 years.

Though the writer had escaped physical harm until now, others associated with the book had not, with its Norwegian publisher having been shot and seriously wounded in the early 1990s, and its Japanese translator stabbed to death.

Details continue to emerge about how the attack on Rushdie unfolded.

Eyewitness Julia Mineeva-Braun describes a scene of confusion, as she thought Rushdie's assailant had approached the author to fix a microphone.

Instead, Rushdie was stabbed firstly in the neck and then lower, near the shoulder blades, Mineeva-Braun tells the Reuters news agency.

Rushdie is said to have got up and started running, but was pinned down by his attacker before help arrived.

Another witness, Mary Newsom, tells the BBC there was shock and a "giant collective gasp" as the incident occurred, as Chautauqua is considered to be a safe place.

She claims there was "no security around [Rushdie]".

Newsom claims that tickets were checked, but bags were not.

Organisers are yet to comment on the event's security arrangements.

UK Conservative leadership contender Liz Truss condemns the "disgraceful" attack on Salman Rushdie.

"People must be able to speak freely and freedom of speech must be defended," she tweets.

Carl LeVan was a witness at an event at the Chautauqua Institution at the time when Salman Rushdie was attacked.

"It was just an absolutely, horrific thing to witness," LeVan said.

He described seeing someone run on to the stage and repeatedly stab Salman Rushdie.

Image source, @HoratioGates3/Twitter

Here's a summary of some of the latest developments following the attack on author Salman Rushdie in the US state of New York.

• Rushdie's agent says his client has been undergoing surgery after being airlifted to hospital. The agent had no more information to share about his Rushdie's condition

• The novelist was due to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution alongside Henry Reese, the founder of a non-profit organisation which protects persecuted writers
• Both men were attacked before the event began; eyewitnesses described a mask-wearing assailant storming the stage with what appeared to be a knife
• Rushdie is said to have been struck many times in the neck and torso area; Reese received minor head injuries
• Police say they took a suspect into custody at the scene
• The New York state governor has credited a police officer with saving Rushdie's life
• Condemnation of the attack and messages of support have come from far and wide, including from US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and authors Neil Gaiman and JK Rowling

Image source, Reuters

The Indian-born author has enjoyed great success during his literary career of five decades - but he has also faced death threats for some of the content in his work.

It was Rushdie's fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, which became his most controversial book - and he was forced to go into hiding as a result of the backlash.

Let's take a closer look at the 75-year-old writer's life:

• Born in Bombay - modern-day Mumbai - in 1947, he was educated in England and allowed his Muslim faith to lapse
• His acclaimed second novel, Midnight's Children, won the Booker Prize in 1981
• His book The Satanic Verses sparked international turmoil and sometimes deadly protests following its publication in 1988. Some Muslims accused Rushdie of blasphemy
• Rushdie went into hiding for nine years after receiving death threats
• A year after the book's publication, Iran's then supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa - or decree - calling for his assassination
• Others who were involved with translating the book were attacked, even killed
• Iran stopped formally backing the fatwa in 1998
• Rushdie continued writing books afterwards and published an account of the controversy in 2012
• He has two children, lives in the US, and was knighted by the Queen in 2007 for his services to literature

Read more in our profile of Rushdie here.

The venue of today's attack has released a statement asking for prayers for Rushdie and Henry Reese - who was interviewing the author and also suffered a minor head injury.

The Chautauqua Institution, an education centre in New York state, says all events scheduled for Friday have been cancelled following the "tragic incident".

Salman Rushdie's publishers Penguin Random House have joined the condemnation of the attack, describing it as a "violent public assault".

We're getting a little more from Salman Rushdie's literary agent, who just confirmed he was in surgery.

Andrew Wylie tells the BBC's US partner station CBS that he doesn't have an update on Rushdie's condition - but says he will pass on any news when he gets it.

Another account of the attack comes from John Nolen from US network CBS, who had family members in the audience of the event.

The assailant - who appeared to a man with a knife - is said to have struck Rushdie many times in the neck and torso area.

Rushdie reportedly stood up and fell backwards as he tried to get away. A number of people came to his aid and others restrained the attacker, Nolen says.

There appeared to be blood splattered on the screen behind Rushdie's chair.