The stars of NBC’s “Today” are safe but shaken after an intruder somehow breached security, got inside, and “lunged” at anchor Craig Melvin on the morning of July 16, 2026, according to TMZ.
Authorities were able to arrest the man, per the outlet, after he “stormed inside the building” from the outdoor plaza where the show’s hosts regularly appear for segments as fans gather to watch and cheer.
‘Today’ Show Intruder Got All the Way to the Dressing Rooms, Per Report
GettyLaw enforcement told TMZ that the intruder got past “Today” security around 9 a.m. Eastern time, and managed to get inside the building after asking for longtime meteorologist Al Roker.
When he couldn’t find Roker, the man went after Melvin, who anchors the show with Savannah Guthrie. The man “lunged at” Melvin and yelled a racial slur at him, per TMZ. It’s not clear where that happened, but TMZ reported that the man got backstage, near the dressing rooms, before law enforcement detained and arrested him.
A photo published by TMZ showed Melvin, Roker, and co-host Dylan Dreyer on the set after the incident, looking shaken as they talked. Fifteen minutes later, Melvin and Roker were back on the air alongside Dreyer, but none of them mentioned the incident on-air.
‘Today’ Intruder is Latest Scary Incident for Show’s Stars Despite Security Increase After Nancy Guthrie’s Disappearance
NBCThe shocking arrest at ‘Today’ is just the latest harrowing incident for the show’s stars, five months after Guthrie’s mom, Nancy, disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home overnight on February 1. Guthrie eventually returned to the show, as the search for her 84-year-old mom and abductors continues.
This was not lost on fans as they heard about the intruder on July 16, with one tweeting, “I thought they had beefed up their security after the Nancy Gutherie case???”
Another tweeted, “Security around live TV shows seems tighter for fans than for actual intruders. How does someone get that close?”
“Live TV security has one job, and this sounds like a pretty loud failure,” another reacted.
In the days after Nancy’s disappearance, Variety reported that NBC had significantly increased its security. The outlet reported that private security services had been hired and NYPD police officers were on hand near the morning show’s street-level studio, which is located across the street from 30 Rockefeller in New York City.
NBC implemented the additional security measures “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a CNN reported at the time that the heightened security decision was made “out of an abundance of caution” and to help Guthrie’s hosts feel more secure in the wake of her family tragedy. It’s not clear if those security measures have since been scaled back.
The latest incident happened on the same day that Guthrie announced on the show she’d be stepping away from for a “few weeks” to focus on filming her new “Wordle” game show, likely to premiere in early 2027, per People.
