BEIJING (CBS) A knife-wielding Chinese man attacked two relatives of a coach for the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball team at a tourist site in Beijing, killing one and injuring the other on the first day of the Olympics Saturday, team officials and state media said.
The man then committed suicide by throwing himself from the second story of the site, the 13th century Drum Tower just five miles the main Olympics site.
The brutal attack shortly after midday was all the more shocking because of the rarity of violent crime in tightly controlled China, which has ramped up security measures even more for the Olympics.
The stabbing came only hours after what by many accounts was the most spectacular opening ceremony in Olympic history and has already dampened some of the enthusiasm.
"They are deeply saddened and shocked," Darryl Seibel, a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee, said of the volleyball team.
President Bush, who is in Beijing for the Games, has been informed "and his heart goes out to the families of the victims," a White House official told CBS News. The White House said the administration and the U.S. Embassy have offered the families of the victims any assistance they need.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement that two family members of a coach for the men's indoor volleyball team were stabbed at the Drum Tower "during an attack by what local law enforcement authorities have indicated was a lone assailant."
One of the family members was killed and the other was seriously injured, it said. It did not identify the coach or give other details.
The official Xinhua News Agency identified the attacker as Tang Yongming, 47, from the eastern city of Hangzhou. It said Tang attacked the two Americans and their Chinese tour guide, who was also injured, at 12:20 p.m. on the second level of the ancient tower, then leapt to his death immediately afterward. The second level of the tower is about 130 feet high.
Seibel said the two Americans "were not wearing apparel or anything that would have specifically identified them as being members of our delegation" or as Americans.
He told The Associated Press it was "too early to say" whether the U.S. delegation or athletes will require additional security.
Some athletes were already thinking about it.
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."
U.S. Embassy officials said they were in contact with relatives of the victims who are in Beijing. "Out of respect for the families involved, we can't say more than that," embassy spokesman Don Q. Washington told reporters.
At the scene, police blocked off streets leading to the Drum Tower and cordoned off the area with yellow police tape. Officers collected samples from the tower and the street below.
The exact details of the attack, including the weapon used, were not clear.
"There was a fight here, don't ask me any more questions," an old lady who would only give her surname, Wang, said near the site.
Attacks on foreigners in China are extremely rare. A Canadian model was murdered last month in Shanghai, but police said that was because 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 to death by a police sniper.
Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most foreign 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.
Even so, the U.S. government now warns Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities.
Built in the 13th century, the Drum Tower is one of few ancient structures still in fast-developing Beijing. 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, the former home of the emperor.
International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said it was "deeply saddened" by the attack and was working with Chinese authorities to provide whatever assistance it could.
We have a locally famous member of the men's volleyball team. He and his father have done much for volleyball and when I first heard this news, I was afraid it was them
