Um…WOW! One of our @NBCNewYork colleagues was walking by the News Corp #Christmas tree in Midtown after it was apparently set on fire! The #NYPD says a 49 y.o. man is in custody #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/7q06rQoRCo
— Tracie Strahan (@tstrahan4NY) December 8, 2021
A 49-year-old man is under arrest after he allegedly set fire to a Christmas tree outside the News Corp building in midtown Manhattan, police say.
The unnamed arsonist allegedly climbed the conifer and set it ablaze, the NYPD said in a tweet Wednesday morning.
Reports on social media showed the pre-dawn fire. WNBC reporter Tracie Strahan tweeted a video of flames bursting from the massive Christmas tree that had been illuminated in multicolored lights, the News Corp sign in the foreground.
The building is home to News Corp outlets such as Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
Police said authorities extinguished the fire and have charged the suspect.