An unidentified man attempted suicide during Thursday's live broadcast of TODAY, as co-anchors Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie stood nearby and saw the incident take place.

At approximately 7:50 a.m., the man - who appeared to be in his 50's - was heard spewing about his discontent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) outside of TODAY's studio location at 10 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

Witnesses told New York Daily News that the troubled man spoke with a foreign accent about the IRS and said the agency was "corrupt" and "ruining his life." According to onlookers, he was trying to get bystanders to read his IRS documents and in frustration, he tossed them in the air. Shortly after, he pulled out a three or four-inch blade pocketknife and yelled, "I'm going to cut myself!"

The man slit his own wrists but was immediately knocked down by NBC security, close to where TODAY was taping outside. He was held on the ground until local authorities arrived. Lauer told the crowd that the segment was immediately cancelled because of the incident, and he quickly rushed inside the studio building with Guthrie as bystanders ran away.

"It happened really fast - and then he was down," Jossie Edwards, a 21-year-old tourist visiting from South Carolina, told the publication.

"Gore was everywhere. They didn't want to touch him," Edwards' mother added, saying that the deranged man yelled at officials, "Move my head!"

See photos HERE of the man who attempted suicide and his blood on the sidewalk.

The talk show veteran and Guthrie re-appeared on the live show shortly after 8 a.m., and thanked local authorities for getting the situation under control. Lauer announced during the broadcast, which was moved indoors, that the man said he had no intentions of harming anyone other than himself.

Lauer also shared the news with his followers on Twitter.

"All secure on the plaza after a scary incident. Thanks to our security team and the NYPD," he wrote on the social media site.

Shortly after, he explained the first tweet for those that did not know what happened: "Sorry, a man attempted to harm himself with a knife. He is under police control. In custody."

The New York Police Department confirmed the report to Mail Online, adding that the man may have also cut his arms. The incident did not take place on-camera.

Watch the man being tackled by NBC security in the short clip below.

Watch Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie discuss the suicide attempt in a broadcast below.

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NBC Today show