The crazed man who stormed the “Today” show set on Thursday was seen in the background of one of the show’s segments minutes before the incident.

A man who closely resembles Andrew Truelove could be seen pacing and smoking outside the studio at Rockefeller Center as Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin reported on a great white shark that may be heading toward Cape Cod, per TMZ.

The video aired at 8:45am, just fifteen minutes before Truelove managed to slip into the studio.

Truelove, 41, who has a rap sheet in New York, including a felony conviction, reportedly followed a staffer who used their ID badge to enter the “employee’s only area” from the lobby, according to the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Millicent Kastenbaum, who said this during an arraignment on Friday.

He then came face-to-face with Melvin in a stairwell and demanded to know Al Roker’s whereabouts.

During the interaction, Truelove took a few steps toward the host and berated him with a racial slur, according to the criminal complaint and sources.

Truelove was nabbed at the scene and arrested along with another man.

He faces a count of burglary in the third degree as a hate crime and a count of menacing in the third degree as a hate crime.

“I always wanted to call a black famous person the N-word,” Truelove allegedly told Melvin, 47, who then called security, leading to the intruder being detained and arrested.

On Friday, Truelove was also arraigned on hate crime charges, and the judge in the case set bail at $10,000.

He is being held at Rikers Island as of Friday, per court records obtained by The Post.

Truelove faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, and is due back in court on July 22.

Page Six exlusively reported that the security guard who failed to stop Truelove has been fired.

Both Melvin and Roker were granted protective orders against the crazed stalker, too.

Following the frightening incident, NBC released a statement sharing that the “Today” show is “cooperating fully with law enforcement as they investigate the matter.”

On Friday, Melvin addressed the incident, assuring viewers that he is “safe and sound.”

Savannah Guthrie is skipping town just one day after an intruder lunged at co-anchor Craig Melvin at the “Today” show offices earlier this week.

Guthrie and her husband, Michael Feldman, were photographed Friday preparing to leave the Big Apple at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport.

The anchor, 54, kept a low profile in a beige Celine bucket hat, jeans, sneakers and a black sweater for the outing. At one point, she was seen checking her phone, and in another snapshot, she took a sip from a water bottle.

Guthrie, whose elderly mother Nancy went missing in February, found the security breach the day prior “incredibly triggering,” the Daily Mail reports, despite the fact that it took place shortly after she left the building Thursday morning.

“The timing couldn’t have been more heartbreaking,” a source told the outlet Friday. “How much more can one person take?”

“After everything Savannah has endured with her family, this happened just moments after she walked off the set. It hit everyone hard, but it hit differently for her,” they added.

During the incident, the intruder — later identified as Andrew Truelove — stormed the building looking for Al Roker and instead found Melvin. He allegedly hurled a racial slur during the encounter, calling Melvin the N-word, and is now facing a slew of hate crime charges.

“This couldn’t have come at a worse time for her emotionally after everything she’s been through this year,” a second source told the Daily Mail of Guthrie. “Even though she had just left, just knowing it happened at her workplace is enough to shake anyone.”

Guthrie was preparing to step away for “a few weeks” to film the network’s upcoming Wordle game show, prior to the incident and announced her upcoming hiatus the same morning the intruder sent shockwaves through the “Today” studio.

“Everyone is relieved she’s taking the next few weeks off to film another project,” the source claimed to the outlet. “She’ll get some distance from all of this while everyone back here catches their breath.”

The insider added that “nobody would blame Savannah if she decided she needed more time.”

“She’s been carrying an enormous emotional burden, and this was another shock,” they continued. “The feeling inside the show is that everyone wants her to put herself first.”

Though the outlet reported security at the “Today” show had been “beefed up,” and the building was “tightening every loophole,” sources also told the Daily Mail that “Savannah’s personal protection has also been increased.”

One source told the outlet that, “The whole newsroom is protective of Savannah right now. People are worried less about the show and more about her. They just want her to be okay.”

Page Six exclusively reported Thursday that NBC News fired one of the security guards who allegedly allowed the crazed intruder to get into the “Today” show studios.

Melvin and Roker have also since been granted protective orders against Truelove.

A rep for Guthrie did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on Friday evening.

The security incident came as the journalist has continued to navigate the disappearance of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy, who disappeared from her Arizona home following a family outing and was reported missing on Feb. 1.

Guthrie has made multiple social media pleas alongside her siblings, Camron and Annie, for information about the case — even offering a $1 million reward.

Though surveillance images from a camera at Nancy’s front door revealed terrifying images of a masked intruder, the case remains unsolved.

Guthrie returned to the “Today” show on April 6 after a hiatus.

“It is good to be home,” she told viewers at the time in her first episode back since her mother’s disappearance. “Ready or not, let’s do the news.”

Kyle and Kristin Juszczyk both summed up Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s recent nuptials with one word: “Legendary.”

“It was just the best night ever,” Kristin told Page Six at the Time100 Sports Gala 2026 in New York City Thursday night. “It was legendary. There’s no other way to describe it.”

The 35-year-old San Francisco 49ers player added, “Yeah, truly, truly legendary.

The couple agreed that it was “wild” to be on the dance floor, rubbing shoulders with a slew of famous guests, including Lena Dunham, Mariska Hargitay, Hugh Grant, Selena Gomez, Bradley Cooper, Sabrina Carpenter, Adam Sandler, Emma Stone, and Tom Brady, with Kristin noting that she needs “to journal” about the night so she doesn’t forget any details.

They also both got teary during the ceremony, which saw Swift, 36, and Kelce exchange vows that ran “about 20 minutes each.”

“I definitely teared up,” Kyle revealed. “Their vows were so good, and it was hard not to,” while Kristin’s tears didn’t really count.

“I cry at every single wedding,” she explained. “Like, I don’t think there’s ever been a wedding that I haven’t cried at.”

Kyle is a longtime pal of Kelce, and Kristin became an overnight sartorial sensation in January 2024, when she whipped up custom Kansas City Chiefs-themed puffer coats for Swift and pal Brittany Mahomes to wear while cheering on their respective partners, Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.

After her work went viral, she signed her own deal with the NFL, allowing her to license team logos on her clothing and sell her designs to the public.

The duo was not the only celeb couple at the gala. Jalen Brunson and his wife, Aly, were in attendance, along with Ciara and Russell Wilson, and LeBron James and Savannah James.

Flying solo was special guest Prince Harry, who attended without his wife, Meghan Markle.

Page Six exclusively reported that the royal was overheard telling guests that Markle and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are “happy” to be home in California after their brief visit to the UK.