A man apparently attempted to slit his wrists outside the “Today” studio this morning, forcing an evacuation of the plaza area around the studio, and sending the “Today” anchors inside. The incident, which took place right behind the window where the anchors normally sit, happened off-air.
“There was an incident out on the plaza, we just want to tell you about,” Matt Lauer said to open the 8 AM hour. “A short time ago, a man out there attempted to harm himself with a knife. He did manage to cut himself. He was controlled by our security team out there, however, he did harm himself in some way.
“And so he’s now being attended to by medical personnel,” Lauer added. “There was a knife involved as we just mentioned, so we’re keeping that area clear for law enforcement out there right now and not getting out there to confuse the situation at all.”
Someone who was on the plaza when the incident happened said that the man was quickly tackled by law enforcement, who then cleared the area and began to stabilize him for medical personnel.
Update: a photo and apparent video of the incident from someone in the plaza, after the jump.
#TodayPlaza @todayshow – This man…can’t believe we were here to see this! #TodayShow twitter.com/ShawnaMunger/s…
— Shawna R. Munger (@ShawnaMunger) June 6, 2013
Here is a link to video of the incident. Warning: it may be graphic for some people.
Back in March, a person watching the program fainted on the plaza, spurring on another medical incident, though not nearly as serious as this one.