A suspect is in custody after the Fox News Christmas tree was lit on fire Tuesday night.
According to Fox News at Night host Shannon Bream, firefighters arrived on the scene at West 48th Street and 6th Avenue and extinguished the fire. Smoke also permeated the building but thankfully there were no injuries.
Bream reported, “It appears that our giant Christmas tree there just a couple of minutes ago was completely engulfed in flames. It appears cruiser there on the scene. You see the smoke in the aftermath is they’re trying to get that under control.”
JUST IN: @ShannonBream announces on @FoxNewsNight that Fox News's Christmas tree has caught fire outside their HQ on the Avenue of the Americas. pic.twitter.com/Ah0OUfTrlE
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 8, 2021
She then added later in the broadcast, “The fire appears to be out for now. Moments ago, you could see, it was engulfed in flames. No word of any injuries there. We saw the crews there, bravely fighting through this.”
A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department spokesperson told NBC 4 that one person was in custody but added that it was not clear to investigators yet what type of incendiary device was used. According to News 4, one of their employees witnessed NYPD officers detaining a suspect near the tree after midnight.
On Sunday, Fox News and Fox Nation celebrated the third annual All-American Christmas tree lighting at Fox Square outside the Fox News headquarters in New York City. Hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade, Abby Hornacek and Lawrence Jones hosted the event.
According to the outlet, “The red, white and blue themed tree measures 50-feet high filled with 10,000 glass ornaments, 100,000 lights and took over 21 hours to assemble.”
UPDATE: FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott released a statement Wednesday morning which read, “We are very grateful to the FDNY which quickly mobilized to extinguish the blaze and the NYPD which apprehended the criminial onsite who has been charged with arson among multiple other crimes. Our security team also did a great job responding to the incident immediately.”
“We will not let this deliberate and brazen act of cowardice deter us. We are in the process of rebuilding and installing a new tree as a message that there can be peace, light and joy even during a dark moment like this.”
Details on the lighting of the new tree will be released when available.
Story cited here.
