NBC Hypes Gun-Toting Doctor in Airport; Barely Mentioned Armed Doctor Who Stopped Shooter

On Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie touted "such a bizarre story" of a doctor legally carrying a gun into a Phoenix airport. In the two-minute report that followed, correspondent Tamron Hall explained that Dr. Peter Steinmetz, a neurological researcher, "was arrested after he pointed  the gun at a woman and her young daughter." Hall declared: "Police think he may have just wanted to make a statement about the right to bear arms." [Listen to the audio [1]]

Another armed doctor who recently made news was Dr. Lee Silverman, who heroically stopped a shooter at a Pennsylvania hospital on Thursday. Friday's Today offered a mere 33-second news brief [2] on that story.

During Tuesday's report on Dr. Steinmetz, Hall noted the details of the airport incident that suggested the pointing of the gun at anyone may have been accidental: "In a statement, police say Steinmetz 'had removed the assault rifle from his shoulder. While doing so, the rifle was pointed at a female along with her 17-year-old daughter. Officers spoke with the victims who indicated they were fear for their safety.'"

She repeated the assumption that Steinmetz was making a political statement: "And police believe Steinmetz may have been trying to prove a point about gun rights."

While NBC's morning show found time for a open-carry gun owner being arrested, the network has failed to cover [3] a federal judge overturning Washington D.C.'s gun ban.

Here is a full transcript of Hall's July 29 report:

7:32 AM ET

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: We'll begin this half hour, though, with such a bizarre story out of Arizona. A 54-year-old research doctor arrested after he entered an airport terminal carrying an assault rifle. And Tamron's got the story on this. Tamron, good morning to you.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Man Carries Rifle In Airport; Doctor Allegedly Points Weapon At Mom & Daughter]

TAMRON HALL: Good morning, everyone. Dr. Peter Steinmetz was carrying an AR-15 over his shoulder when he was taken into custody last week. He told police he visited the airport to simply buy a cup of coffee, but was arrested after he pointed  the gun at a woman and her young daughter. Police think he may have just wanted to make a statement about the right to bear arms.

This newly-released surveillance video shows Phoenix police confronting Dr. Peter Steinmetz at Sky Harbor Airport last Friday afternoon. The 54-year-old scientist was seen walking near a Starbucks in an unsecure area of the terminal with an AR-15-style rifle slung over his shoulder.

In a statement, police say Steinmetz "had removed the assault rifle from his shoulder. While doing so, the rifle was pointed at a female along with her 17-year-old daughter. Officers spoke with the victims who indicated they were fear for their safety."

Police say Steinmetz told them that he went to the airport only to buy a cup of coffee and had no other business there. Authorities saying it's not illegal to have a gun in the airport's non-secure areas. And police believe Steinmetz may have been trying to prove a point about gun rights. He was arrested and charged with one count of disorderly conduct with a weapon, a class-6 felony.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN [JUDGE, MARICOPA SUPERIOR COURT]: You are not to possess any weapons.

HALL: During his arraignment on Monday, a judge told Steinmetz that as part of his bond agreement, he is not allowed to possess weapons.

PETER STEINMETZ: When you say I can have no weapons, what precisely do you mean by that?

JUDGE: It means no weapons.

HALL: Steinmetz is a high-ranking doctor at Barrow Neurological Institute overseeing brain research. In a statement, the hospital said, "We are aware of the situation and are taking it very seriously." Dr. Steinmetz was released after paying his own $5,000 bond.

Can you imagine how frightening that was for people in that airport, especially that mother and her daughter?

GUTHRIE: Oh, yeah, of all places. Tamron, thank you very much.