By Chris Engelhardt
A Corona man slashed his wrists outside the “Today” show studio at Rockefeller Center last week after ranting about tax problems with the IRS, according to the NYPD.
Pak Chong Mar, 72, of Corona, sliced his wrists with a box cutter June 6 around 7:50 a.m., after he tried to distribute a note he wrote on an IRS seizure notice, seeking help with his $1.3 million tax bill and cut himself with the blade when people refused to take action, according to the New York Post.
The Post reported that the note said the IRS was to seize nearly $1 million from his bank accounts after previously taking around $300,000. Part of the note read, “IRS ruin our lifes [sic] … I can’t fight the IRS buracracy [sic] without the public put pressure on them. Thank you.”
As tourists and fans outside the “Today” show studio stood in shock or ran off to avoid the scene, an NBC security guard tackled Mar, who was eventually subdued after NYPD officers responded to the incident.
Matt Lauer, co-anchor of the “Today” show, tweeted about the incident, apologizing to fans and noting that Mar was taken into custody by police.
“All secure on the plaza after a scary incident,” he wrote. “Thanks to our security team and the NYPD.”
Mar has a history of harming himself. In 1995, Mar chopped off three of his fingers at the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing while protesting a home eviction, the Post reported. He denied doctors’ efforts to suture them back on.
His injuries were not life-threatening, police said. Mar was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was to undergo psychiatric evaluation. He was not arrested and most likely will not be charged, police said.
Reach reporter Chris Engelhardt by e-mail at cengelhardt@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
