Man Injured Alongside Salman Rushdie in 2022 Stabbing Attack Says He Thought It Was a Prank at First

In this courtroom sketch, Salman Rushdie testifies on the witness stand gesturing how the attacker slashed his throat when he was attacked at the Chautauqua Institute, during the trial of Hadi Matar, in Chautauqua County court, in Mayville, N.Y., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Elizabeth Williams via AP

MAYVILLE, N.Y.—A man injured alongside author Salman Rushdie in a knife attack on a New York lecture stage said Thursday that he tried to stop the assault once he realized it wasn’t a prank and was left with a gash above his eye.

It took several stitches to close the cut, Henry Reese, 75, told jurors during the third day of testimony in the trial of Hadi Matar, the 27-year-old New Jersey man charged with trying to kill Rushdie and assaulting Reese.