(WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com) – On August 12, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrested Hadi Mattar, 24, of Fairview NJ.
Mattar was arrested for attempted murder 2nd degree and assault 2nd degree.
Mattar was then processed at SP Jamestown and then transported to Chautauqua County Jail where he will be arraigned in centralized arraignment on August 13.
The Chautauqua County DA’s office has released the following statement following the attack on Salman Rushdie:
“The individual responsible for the attack yesterday, Hadi Mattar, has now been formally charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and Assault in the Second Degree. He was arraigned on these charges last night and remanded without bail. Immediately after the attack, I was on scene to view the evidence in order to determine what needed to be further developed and preserved for prosecution. I then dispatched a prosecutor to stay with investigators and communicate information to me while I worked on a search warrant application which was signed last night by our County Court Judge, Hon. David W. Foley. Execution of the legal authority provided to us by that warrant has already occurred and is ongoing. We are working closely with State Police, our local police agencies and federal law enforcement partners to fully develop the evidence. We have been in touch with our counterparts in the State of New Jersey where the attacker is from to share information and assist them in helping us to better understand the planning and preparation which preceded the attack so that we and the different agencies involved can determine what, if any, additional charges should be asserted. This is the very early stage of what will invariably be a protracted legal process. We will try to be as transparent as we can without compromising the case.”