By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-18 19:46:56 | Updated at 2026-07-19 01:56:04
6 hours ago
Eerie footage from Thursday's episode of Today appears to show the man accused of lunging at anchor Craig Melvin just moments before the attack.
Andrew Truelove, 41, stormed the set of the show at around 8.57am ET, cops said.
A segment hosted by Melvin and costar Savannah Guthrie at around 8.10am appeared to show the suspect in the background, through the set's iconic glass walls.
The pair, oblivious to the cameo, continued to report on a nearly 1,700-pound great white shark that looks to be heading toward Cape Cod.
As they did, the person outside puffs a pink vape and peruses his phone, pacing in the background.
Melvin, 47, encountered Truelove in a restricted area of 30 Rock mere minutes later during a brief break before 9am, cops said.
Truelove is thought to have followed a staffer who used their badge to get into the 'employees' only area,' Manhattan Assistant DA Millicent Kastenbaum said this week.
He allegedly asked for Al Roker before confronting Melvin, hurling a racial slur. After being pursued into the building's lobby, he was detained by security and eventually arrested.
Video from Thursday appears to show the suspect in the Today intruder case strolling around 30 Rock Plaza before getting inside the building and allegedly attempting to attack Craig Melvin, seen here reporting on a record-setting, wayward shark making its way up the Atlantic
Andrew Truelove, 41, has since been identified as the suspect. He is charged with hate crime menacing, hate crime burglary, hate crime criminal trespass and harassment
Melvin returned to the air, with Roker at his side, at around 9.15am. Neither acknowledged the incident.
Truelove was identified as the suspect later that night. He has been charged with burglary as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime, criminal trespass as a hate crime, and harassment.
Truelove, while homeless on the streets of Los Angeles, was profiled by the LA Times in 2023 after attempting to launch a social media company.
He managed to slip past security guards stationed in front of a vestibule near Studio 1A and into a restricted area, police said.
NBC News confirmed in its own statement that it was Melvin who alerted security.
An unidentified Today show security guard was fired after the incident, according to TMZ.
Melvin replaced Hoda Kotb as one of the show's permanent anchors early last year. His profile has grown sizably since.
Roker, 71, is one of the program's most recognizable presences, having made regular appearances since 1996. Both men addressed the incident in statements on Friday.
Both hosts continued the segment. The incident occurred within the hour
Melvin returned to the air with fellow host Roker after the incident, later confirming he was all right
Separately, Guthrie said Thursday that she was stepping away from the show for several weeks to host a TV adaptation of the popular New York Times puzzle game Wordle.
The 54-year-old took a break from the show earlier this year following the abduction of her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
Guthrie, 84, stepped away at the start of the search in February. She returned in April.
Nancy was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona.
