Medical staff and police were called to the amphitheater, according to a Chautauqua spokesperson who would not elaborate or confirm details about the incident. A witness in the audience told CNN he saw Rushdie attacked on stage. The witness could not confirm what was used in the attack, adding that he was 75 feet from stage. The 75-year-old novelist — the son of a successful Muslim businessman in India — was educated in England, first at Rugby School and later at the University of Cambridge where he received an MA degree in history.