UK authorities said on Sunday they were investigating an online threat against author JK Rowling after she offered social media support for Salman Rushdie, the novelist who was attacked last week at an event in the West New York.
Hours after the attack on Mr. Rushdie, who was stabbed approximately 10 times while preparing to speak at the Chautauqua Institution, Ms. Rowling tweeted her condolences. She first wrote on Twitter: “Horrible news,” then added: “Feeling so sick right now. May she be well.”
In response, a user with the handle @MeerAsifAziz1 replied: “Don’t worry, you’re next.”
The tweet was later deleted, though the account remained active as of Sunday afternoon.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said authorities had received a report of an online threat against Ms Rowling and an investigation was underway.
On Saturday, Ms. Rowling, 57, who wrote the award-winning “Harry Potter” books, blasted Twitter for allowing the social media account that made the threat to remain active.
“@TwitterSupport Those are your guidelines, right?” she wrote “Violence: You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence…”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, Warner Bros. Discovery, the entertainment company behind the film adaptations of “Harry Potter,” released a statement condemning the attack on Ms. Rowling.
“We stand with her and all authors, storytellers and creators who bravely express their creativity and opinions,” the company said in a statement, which also extended its condolences to Mr. Rushdie and his family.
“The company strongly condemns any form of threat, violence or intimidation where opinions, beliefs and thoughts may differ,” the statement said.
Mr Rushdie went into hiding in 1989, shortly after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses. The book, which contained fictional depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, offended many Muslims and led to a fatwa, or religious edict, by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s supreme leader, urging Muslims to kill the author. In 1998, the country’s president said that Iran no longer supported the edict.
As Mr. Rushdie prepared to speak at the Chautauqua institution, a man, later identified by police as Hadi Matar, 24, of New Jersey, stormed the stage and stabbed him. Mr. Rushdie remains in a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, and his agent said on Sunday that he was recovering.
Mr. Matar has pleaded not guilty to the attack.