Ralph Henry Reese

Ralph Henry Reese helped rescue Salman Rushdie from assault, Chautauqua, New York, August 12, 2022. Rushdie, 75, was seated on an amphitheater stage at a speaking event when a man, armed with a knife, advanced to the stage, charged, and stabbed him repeatedly. Rushdie stood and attempted to flee the assailant but fell to the ground as the assailant continued to stab him. Reese, 73, a non-profit organization co-founder who had been seated near Rushdie, charged the assailant and held his legs down, at some point suffering a stab wound above his right eye. With his upper body free, the assailant continued his attack on Rushdie. The amphitheater event supervisor and another man, who were watching a livestream feed of the event, responded from backstage. While the man struck the assailant with his shoulder, knocking the assailant off-balance and distracting him briefly, the amphitheater supervisor jumped on the assailant and also held down his legs. The assailant sat up and the supervisor punched the assailant’s arm in an unsuccessful attempt to loosen his grip on the knife. Reese continued to hold down the assailant’s legs, and the supervisor laid facedown on the assailant’s upper body to hold him down. Rushdie moved a few feet out of the assailant’s reach as he lay bleeding on the floor. Others from the audience responded, including yet another man, who sat on the assailant’s back and held down his arm holding the knife, and someone else removed the knife from his grasp. On-site police and security soon responded and took the assailant into custody. The assailant was found guilty in state court of attempted murder and assault, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Rushdie was flown to a hospital for his injuries, including 15 stab wounds, some of which required surgery, with one wound blinding his right eye. Reese was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was treated for the stab wound above his eye. He recovered.

2023-0000038-10527