U.S. vollyball coach's father-in-law murdered in Beijing

[Scott & Lai 12]

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_10150044

2008 Olympic Games

Father-in-law of U.S. Volleyball coach murdered in Beijing

By John Meyer and Benjamin Hochman

The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 08/09/2008 08:56:09 PM MDT

BEIJING — The U.S. Olympic family was jolted on the first full day of competition at the Beijing Games Saturday when the father-in-law of the head men's indoor volleyball coach was fatally stabbed at a popular Beijing tourist attraction.

Todd and Barbara Bachman of Lakeville, Minn. - parents of 2004 volleyball Olympian Elisabeth "Wiz" Bachman and in-laws of U.S. men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon - were attacked by a Chinese man while visiting the 13th-century Drum Tower.

The U.S. Olympic Committee confirmed Bachman died from knife wounds and that Barbara Bachman suffered life-threatening injuries. She and their Chinese tour guide, who was also injured in the attack, were being treated in a Beijing hospital.

Elisabeth Bachman was with them at the time of the attack, but uninjured. Her father was chief executive officer for Bachman's, Inc., a home-and-garden center based in Minneapolis.

The official Chinese Xinhua news agency identified the assailant as Tang Yongming of Hangzhou, a city in eastern China. Tang leaped 130 feet to his death from the tower after the attack, according to Chinese officials.

"It is impossible to describe the depth of our sadness and shock in this tragic hour," said U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth. "Our delegation comes to the Games as a family, and when one member of our family suffers a loss, we all grieve with them. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with the Bachman and McCutcheon families."

The midday attack sent shock waves through the games precinct after the Olympics' spectacular opening ceremony had set an ebullient tone. President George W. Bush, in the Chinese capital for the games, expressed sadness while American athletes and Olympics officials reacted with disbelief.

There was no indication that the assailant knew that his victims had any connection to the games. "For all intents, it appears to be a random attack by a deranged man," an American member Two police officers and an unidentified man, right, walk in the grounds of the Drum Tower in Beijing Saturday Aug. 9, 2008. A man attacked two relatives of a U.S. Olympic coach at the Drum Tower on Saturday, stabbing the man to death and wounding his female companion on the first day of the Beijing Games. (AP / Greg Baker)of the International Olympic Committee, Jim Easton, told The Associated Press. "The only thing we've heard is they were not identifiable except for a small volleyball pin which would probably be invisible to a guy."

Easton said the attack has stunned the Olympic community.

"It's certainly a down day, certainly for the U.S. people," he said. "Here it is supposed to be a great time of happiness and peace and all that. That's what we work hard for, then for one person to be able to put a dark cloud on that."

The U.S. women's indoor volleyball team heard about the killing of their former teammate's father before they took on Japan in a match Saturday. After their victory, player Logan Tom was obviously shaken.

"God, we all love Wiz," she said. "It's hard to put it in words. That's not something that's supposed to happen."

Tom then turned away, crying.

"It's just tragic," said U.S. woman's basketball coach Anne Donovan. "I don't know if there's another word for it. We said a prayer for them in the locker room. I get goosebumps talking about it. It's something obviously that just changes the events right now for the Olympic Games."

Violent crime against foreigners is rare in tightly controlled China, and the assault at the Drum Tower, five miles from the main Olympics site, occurred despite major security measures that have blanketed the capital city during the Olympics: A 100,000-strong security force plus countless volunteer guards have been deployed A Chinese doctor, center, walks away from journalists after the hospital released a short statement at Peking Union Medical College Hospital where Barbara Bachman, one of the stabbed Americans, had been operated on and was undergoing further treatment, Beijing, China, Sunday, Aug., 10, 2008. Two Americans closely linked to the U.S. Olympic volleyball team were stabbed, one fatally, in a bizarre attack Saturday atop an ancient landmark in the Chinese capital on the first day of the Beijing Games. (AP / Alexander F. Yuan)to protect against any trouble.

Beijing's Communist leaders are hypersensitive about anything that could take the shine off the games. China's Foreign Ministry said it had no immediate comment on the attack. It was not mentioned in the main evening news bulletin on state-controlled television, though it was reported by the official Xinhua News Agency and other Chinese-language media.

Interpol said initial investigations found nothing indicating the murder was linked to terrorism or organized crime.

"So far, our database check and preliminary analysis suggest that today's murder-suicide was an isolated, though brutal, murder of one person and assault on two others," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

Tang's name was run through computers containing more than 178,000 individuals, including 12,000 suspected terrorists, and came up blank. But Noble noted that the investigation was not complete.

Interpol said Tang had apparently recently divorced and had not been seen by relatives for two months.

U.S. Ambassador Clark T. Randt visited the victims in hospital, and the embassy issued a statement later that said the attack "appears to be a senseless act of violence."

"We don't believe this was targeted at American citizens, and we don't believe this has anything to do with the Olympics," embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said.

Jennie Finch, a member of the U.S. softball team, said her heart skipped a beat when she heard about the attack, but was undaunted.

"I'm here with my husband and son, so it's not easy but we're living our dreams and we're not going to live in fear," she said. "We're going to go out there every day and enjoy every day and celebrate it."

Attacks on foreigners in China are extremely rare. A Canadian model was murdered last month in Shanghai — police said she stumbled onto a burglary. In March, a screaming, bomb-strapped hostage-taker who commandeered a bus with 10 Australians aboard in the popular tourist city of Xi'an was shot dead by a police sniper.

Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most cities of their size. Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier than for crimes against Chinese, and police-linked neighborhood watch groups are highly vigilant. Chinese are not allowed to own guns. Still, the U.S. government has warned Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities.

The Drum Tower is one of few ancient structures still in fast-developing Beijing. Long ago, drummers pounded their massive instruments on the hour to let people in the imperial city know the time. It is located on an important central axis of the city, to the north of the Forbidden City, which was home to the emperor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

[mRs StOcKwElL 1]

what a very sad story...

[Ggreen 12]

#######?!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

So here is the family of the Vollyball coach just visiting to watch the Olympics and they get murdered off. Damb.

[Yiyi and Chris 0]

Soo Tragic... Sad

[jundp 191]

Very sad.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Sad. The usual suspects?

[Yiyi and Chris 0]

"A lonely Chinnese"... That was what the news reported!

[mRx 16]

Sad. The usual suspects?

That's the first thing I thought. They did just say they we're going to attack the games, after all.

[Ggreen 12]

Sad. The usual suspects?

That's the first thing I thought. They did just say they we're going to attack the games, after all.

Can you explain please, i am confused?

[Peikko 1,575]

The 'usual suspects' for LuckyStrike are muslims (sometimes further defined as terrorists but not always). Had he bothered to read the piece, he would have discovered that this was the usual 'random crazy guy who then commits suicide' type murder (if there can be anything 'usual' about that) who attacked with a knife. It could have been far worse had he chosen a different weapon which is no consolation for those who were attacked of course.

[amiquechu 0]

The 'usual suspects' for LuckyStrike are muslims (sometimes further defined as terrorists but not always). Had he bothered to read the piece, he would have discovered that this was the usual 'random crazy guy who then commits suicide' type murder (if there can be anything 'usual' about that) who attacked with a knife. It could have been far worse had he chosen a different weapon which is no consolation for those who were attacked of course.

I take it you haven't heard any of the reports of Muslim terrorists threatening to attack the Olympics

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/08/asia/terror.php

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/cont...0728_898768.htm

Many more reports I didn't post.

[Carolyn 1]

My mom went to high school with the guy that got murdered. He is from a really nice family and a was a prominent businessman in Minneapolis.

How tragic--and what an awful way to start the Olympics!

[Peikko 1,575]

You can take it wherever you like but you would be wrong.

Assuming that everything that goes wrong is the work of 'muslims' is stupid. It is also designed to create a 'climate of fear' in order to justify any outrageous action taken against them, justified or not.

This was an extremely tragic event in terms of the effect it had on this family but it does not justify not reading a piece and assuming it's the work of muslims. Stupid is as stupid does.

[Ggreen 12]

The 'usual suspects' for LuckyStrike are muslims (sometimes further defined as terrorists but not always). Had he bothered to read the piece, he would have discovered that this was the usual 'random crazy guy who then commits suicide' type murder (if there can be anything 'usual' about that) who attacked with a knife. It could have been far worse had he chosen a different weapon which is no consolation for those who were attacked of course.

I take it you haven't heard any of the reports of Muslim terrorists threatening to attack the Olympics

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/08/asia/terror.php

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/cont...0728_898768.htm

Many more reports I didn't post.

I also heard about it, my question is about this case in particular.