The American news website “The Daily Beast” also sought to profile Hadi Matar. He interviewed a former student who knew him in high school in California. This student, Gabriel Sanchez, said to himself “shocked” to learn that Hadi Matar could be implicated in such an event. He described Hadi Matar as “a devout Muslim who participated in discussions and had several friends”, selon The Daily Beast.
Regarding the exercise of faith, Hadi Matar is described as someone who practiced “seriously”, “He was a devout Muslim”he added, recalling a student who showed “kindness”. According to former student Gabriel Sanchez, Hadi Matar used to spend free time at school playing basketball and reading a lot. However, he would never have spoken of Iran or Rushdie.
What Hadi Matar did between moving to New Jersey in 2014 and now remains unclear. The neighborhood where he lived is described as cosmopolitan and quiet. Neighbors interviewed by The Daily Beast were not particularly familiar with Hadi Matar. According to information collected by the American information website from a sports club, the young man would have registered for group boxing lessons last April and would have stopped his subscription on August 9.