A 24 year old man from Fairview, New Jersey, is accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie on a stage in western New York on Friday.
In a news release distributed hours after the Indian-born author knifing, police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar, 24.
Rushdie was about to speak at the Chautauqua Institution late in the morning when Matar allegedly rushed on stage and stabbed him several times in the neck. Rushdie was flown by helicopter to a hospital to undergo surgery and was immediately arrested by the police.
An update to Rushdie's medical condition was not immediately known on Friday.
Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses has been banned in Iran since 1988, with many Muslims believing it to be blasphemous.
Investigators haven't discussed a motive for Matar's attack on Rushdie.
The late leader of Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie's death in 1989, with a bounty of more than $3 m being offered for anyone who killed the author.
The New York Post, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Matar was sympathetic to the Iranian government.
Iran's government has long since distanced itself from Ayatollah's decree or fatwa calling for Rushdie's life. Anti-Rushdie sentiment has persisted.