U.S. Olympic Coach's Relative Killed in Beijing

By Theresa Tang and Eugene Tang

Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- An American tourist related to a U.S. Olympic volleyball coach was stabbed to death today in Beijing by a man who then killed himself, according to the city's police and a U.S. embassy spokeswoman.

The victim, his wife and their Chinese guide were attacked at the Drum Tower in central Beijing by a man wielding a knife, said Zhi Shaodong, a spokesman of the Chinese capital's police. The attacker jumped to his death from the second floor of the tower, Zhi said.

The attack on the first day of Beijing's Olympic Games cast a shadow on the world's largest sports event as China's government seeks to project the image of a progressive and peaceful nation to an estimated 4 billion television viewers globally. As many as 500,000 tourists are likely to visit the Chinese capital during the Olympics, which run through Aug. 24.

``Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, and the United States government has offered to provide any assistance the family needs,'' President George W. Bush said in Beijing, where he is attending the Games. He said he was ``saddened'' by the incident.

The assailant, identified as Tang Yongming, 47, came from Hangzhou, in eastern China. An identification card was found on his body, police spokesman Zhi said. The U.S. visitors had entered China on tourist visas, he said.

`Crazy'

``Nothing like this has ever happened around here,'' said an eyewitness to Tang's suicide, who would identify himself only by his family name of Li. ``We get a lot of foreign tourists around here, and it's always very peaceful. That assailant must have been crazy.''

The wife of the slain man and the Chinese guide were taken to a Beijing hospital, said Susan Stevenson, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, declining to give further details.

Two relatives of a coach for the men's indoor volleyball team were stabbed and the wife was ``seriously injured,'' the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement, without giving any names.

``Our priority in this hour is to attend to the needs of the family members, the U.S. Olympic men's indoor volleyball team and staff, and the entire U.S. Olympic delegation,'' the committee said.

The Drum Tower, a major tourist site in central Beijing, was sealed off after the incident and uniformed police stood guard.

Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing organizing committee declined to comment immediately.

To contact the reporter for this story: Theresa Tang in Hong Kong at ttang3@bloomberg.net