Salman Rushdie attacked ahead of lecture in New York

Controversial author Salman Rushdie has been attacked as he was about to give a lecture in western New York.
A reporter witnessed a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced.
Rushdie's condition is not yet known but pictures have appeared of him lying on the ground surrounded by onlookers and what appeared to be a medical team with a first aid kit.
Some said they could see blood.
A bounty of more than $3 million (£2.5 million) has also been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie.
Rushdie’s book ‘The Satanic Verses’ has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous.
A year later, Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death.
Iran’s government has long since distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, but anti-Rushdie sentiment lingered. In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for Rushdie from £2.3 million ($2.8 million) to $3.3 million (£2.7 million.)
Rushdie dismissed the threat at the time, saying there was “no evidence” of people being interested in the reward.
That year, Rushdie published a memoir, “Joseph Anton,” about the fatwa.
More to follow as the story develops.