The father-in-law of U.S. Olympic coach, Hugh McCutcheon, was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Beijing on August 9, the very day the Games got underway.
Americans Todd Bachman and Barbara from Lakeville, Minnesota were at a popular tourist site when 47-year-old Tang Yongming, from the eastern city of Hangzhou, attacked them for no apparant reason. Mr. Bachman was killed and his wife and a Chinese tour guide were seriously injured.
The Bachmans are the parents of Olympian Elisabeth “Wiz” Bachman a member of the 2004 U.S. women’s Olympic volleyball team.
After the attack, the assailant jumped to his death from the second story of the Drum Tower. The coach’s mother-in-law and guide were both immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.
“We’re actively following the situation right now and U.S. Embassy officials are already at the hospital,” an embassy spokeswoman said.
“For all intents, it appears to be a random attack by a deranged man,” Jim Easton, an American member of the International Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press.
The tragedy has sent shock waves throughout the Olympic village.
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