According to The Hollywood Reporter, on Thursday morning, NBC’s Today morning show had a security breach that led to the arrest of an unauthorized intruder.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that the New York City Police, in a statement, said, “at approximately 9:19 hours, it was reported to officers that there was a disorderly person inside 30 Rockefeller Center, within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct.”
As per The Hollywood Reporter, the intruder bypassed security at Rockefeller Plaza, entered the building, and reached the Today set in Studio 1A. According to TMZ, which was the first to report on the incident, the intruder was looking for Today host Al Roker (Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs).
When the intruder was unable to find Roker, they approached Today host Craig Melvin (MSNBC Live with Craig Melvin, Saturday Night’s Main Event) and yelled a racial slur before being detained. “Officers responded and placed an unidentified individual into custody. There were no injuries reported. The investigation remains ongoing,” the NYPD added via The Hollywood Reporter.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, after everything settled on the set, Melvin and fellow host Al Roker appeared on air and made no mention of the security breach on the Thursday morning show. NBC was later approached for more information on the intruder incident.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that another host, Savannah Guthrie (Now You See Me 2, Princess Power), on the Thursday telecast, announced she will be taking a few weeks off to film a new project. She returned to her anchor desk duties in April after taking time off after her mother Nancy Guthrie, disappeared. Nancy was taken from her Tucson, Arizona, home on the morning of February first and remains missing after evidence of a violent crime was found.
Broadcasting live from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza, NBC’s TODAY is one of America’s most enduring and influential morning news and talk programs.