MIDTOWN — A crowd waiting outside the "Today" show in Rockefeller Center Thursday morning got a horrifying surprise when a man pulled out a knife and slit his wrists, according to fire officials and witnesses.
The man, in his 50s, passed anti-IRS leaflets around Rockefeller Plaza and then told bystanders that the feds were after him before making his way into a barricaded area, witnesses said.
There, he whipped out a knife.
"A lot of kids were screaming and crying when he pulled out the knife," said vendor Dwaine Johnson, 59. "They thought he was going to cut someone else."
Cops quickly took the man into custody and cleared the area, "Today" show anchor, Matt Lauer reported from the scene.
“There was an incident out on the plaza…A short time ago, a man out there attempted to harm himself with a knife,” Lauer told viewers. “He did manage to cut himself. He was controlled by our security team out there."
The man was taken to Bellevue Hospital just before 8 a.m. for injuries to his wrists, officials said.
NBC declined to comment.