Man Tries To Kill Himself During Today Show Airing, Incident Caught On Video

A knife wielding man was detained outside of NBC’s Today show studios at Rockefeller Center on Thursday after he attempted to commit suicide.

Queens resident Pak Chong Mar cut himself at approximately 7:50 am and was quickly transported to Bellevue Hospital.

Witnesses at the scene of the incident claim that the man was carrying a box cutter, which he used to harm himself.

Pak Chong Mar was tackled to the ground by a Today Show security guard. Witnesses say the man was then maced to subdue his actions.

The man appeared to be under some type of distress, possibly caused by a mental disorder. Before cutting himself, Mar was heard screaming “the IRS is watching me.” Mar also began handing out flyers to Today Show watchers. The flyers claim that Mar was being wrongfully attacked by the IRS.

Another witness claims that the knife wielding man screamed: “The IRS is trying to take my money! I’m not a freeloader!”

If 1995, a man with the same name chopped off three of his fingers with a meat clever and threw them into a crowd. That incident occurred during the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing. It is not clear at this time if the Today Show knife wielding man is any relation to the person involved in the Flushing incident.

Today Show host opened the shows 8 am segment by explaining to viewers what had just happened. Lauer proclaimed:

“There was an incident out on the plaza. A man tried to harm himself with a knife. He did manage to cut himself. He was controlled by our security team out there … He’s being treated by medical personnel.”

The shows hosts then proceeded to stay inside as security and police workers continued to investigate the situation.

Later in the day, Matt Lauer tweeted:

All secure on the plaza after a scary incident. Thanks to our security team and the NYPD.

— Matt Lauer (@MLauer) June 6, 2013

Here is the New York Post’s video of the Today Show knife wielding incident as it unfolded:

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