NBC has stepped up security at the “Today” studio in Manhattan after co-host Craig Melvin was accosted in a vestibule and months after the unsolved abduction of fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother from her home in Tucson, Arizona, according to a new report.
“It was much-needed and took longer than people would have liked, but it does feel a lot better now,” an unnamed insider told Page Six.
Although more burdensome, “Today” staffers don’t mind the added hassle, another unnamed source told the outlet.
NANCY GUTHRIE MYSTERY: ‘TODAY’ SHOW INTRUDER SPARKS SECURITY SHAKEUP AT NBC STUDIO
Specifics about the increased security measures were not immediately made public.
“We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios,” an NBC spokesperson said in July after police arrested an intruder who gained access to a secure area.
Plans were first revealed about new security measures later that month in an internal memo obtained by Variety. NBC sources later confirmed its authenticity.
One change outlined in the memo was that guests can now be accompanied by only two people — whether they be stylists, spokespersons, social media aides or other “support personnel.”
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
Nancy Guthrie, Savannah’s 84-year-old mother, was abducted from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills on Feb. 1. Her whereabouts remain unknown, no suspects have been publicly identified and no arrests have been made.
SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS
While Guthrie and her colleagues were still reeling from the kidnapping, a homeless man identified as 41-year-old Andrew Truelove snuck onto the set, allegedly hunting for Al Roker.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE DELIVERS ‘VERY SPECIFIC’ MESSAGE TO MOM’S KIDNAPPER 25 WEEKS AFTER HER ABDUCTION
He found Melvin instead in a vestibule inside a secure area of the studio and allegedly accosted him with a racial slur.
A review of footage from the “Today” show that morning reveals a man resembling Truelove and wearing the same clothing was pictured in the background repeatedly in the 8 a.m. hour.
LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST
NANCY GUTHRIE SHERIFF CHRIS NANOS SAYS HE’S ‘STILL POSITIVE’ CASE WILL BE RESOLVED DESPITE LONG WAIT
Truelove has a criminal record going back decades and in 2007 was convicted of trying to abduct an 8-year-old from a school in Norfolk, Virginia.
He faces hate crime charges of burglary, a felony, and menacing, a misdemeanor, in connection with the Melvin incident.
Court records in New York show a man with the same name and age as Truelove has additional pending cases in connection with an alleged assault in the NYPD’s 5th Precinct in January, trespassing and reckless endangerment charges on the city’s transit system from May — and a 12-count criminal mischief indictment from last year.
