Authors, celebrities and politicians voice disbelief at Salman Rushdie stabbing

In this still image from video, author Salman Rushdie is taken on a stretcher to a helicopter for transport to a hospital after he was attacked during a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York on Aug 12. Photo: AP

JK Rowling and Stephen King are among the authors and notable faces voicing their disbelief after Salman Rushdie was stabbed on stage in New York state.

The 75-year-old Indian-born British author, whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution when the incident occurred, leaving him with an apparent stab wound to the neck.