American at Olympics stabbed to death

American at Olympics stabbed to death

www.cnn.com

Chinese attacker stabbed two Americans, killing the man and wounding the woman, who were attending the Olympic Games on Saturday, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The man also injured a female Chinese tour guide before leaping to his death around noon from the second floor of the Drum Tower, a popular Beijing tourist site, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

(visit the link for the full news article)

What a horrible start to the olympics, I really hope this isn't the start of a trend for the next couple weeks.

"The USOC said the two Americans were family members of a coach for the U.S. men's indoor volleyball team. No other information about them was released."

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I was hoping that something like this wouldn't happen, in any Olympiad, much less this one.

I must say that I'm impressed that the story got out to the world. I guess that the news can get reported and released.

What a shame for the coach's family. I hope that they get answers and closure soon.

Another gruesome, unprovoked attack. The killer then jumps to his own death.

So many shocking deaths lately, beheadings, suicides. No motives or apparant explanations. Strange days indeed.

reply to post by wolf241e


I am also kinda suprised this story got out so quickly. I doubt we will hear many details of the attack though.

The Ap version:
Relative of US Olympic coach killed in Beijing

BEIJING (AP) - 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 on 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 from the main Olympics site.

All I can say is 'wow'. I think this is absolutely terrible. I should hope that someone would look into this attack in detail. Not a state sponsored attack for 'cheating' but perhaps one man's attempt to help his country win as many golds as possible. I doubt it though. Apparently, crimes against foreigners are not very common in China due to harsh penalties.

I wonder if this was just a Chinese Patriot, or a Chinese citizen screaming for freedom, but has buckled mentally. If one looks at the fact that he committed suicide after the attack, he obviously knew the consequences of his actions, and decided to take his own life in affront to media scrutiny and China's lack of Democracy. Although I am dismayed by the outcome of his actions, I can not overlook the actions themselves. He did two of the most objectionable acts of someone who considers themselves a free man, murder and suicide.

This was not a random act of violence.
DocMoreau

[edit on 9/8/2008 by DocMoreau]

The man then committed suicide by throwing himself from the second story of the site, the 13th century Drum Tower just five miles from the main Olympics site.

Wait... second story?

... something tells me he didn't intend to die on impact.

I've fallen from these heights myself, all I managed to do was twist and sprain joints.

Did he purposely land head first? If so, did he intend to roll?

It may not have been a random attack at all, but I have to believe the information on this man and the details on the attack are just not going to be made public. Hopefully my instinct is wrong.

It seems like the man was trying to make a statement by jumping off what is an apparent popular toursit destination.

reply to post by drock905


Oh, I agree with you there. I am surprised that this information got out as fast as it did, except that they are family members of the US team. Too close to the media to give no disclosure, you know?

But I highly doubt that any information about the identity or motives of the attacker will be forth coming.

It is not like we know the name of the unknown rebel....


In respect to the fallen...
DocMoreau

Originally posted by johnsky

The man then committed suicide by throwing himself from the second story of the site, the 13th century Drum Tower just five miles from the main Olympics site.

Wait... second story?

... something tells me he didn't intend to die on impact.

I've fallen from these heights myself, all I managed to do was twist and sprain joints.

Did he purposely land head first? If so, did he intend to roll?

Second story seems low but i googled an image of this tower, its a pagoda and seem pretty massive. Couldn't put up a pick cause im using a cellphone

reply to post by johnsky


I was thinking the same thing, until I saw an image of the Drum Tower.

The Drum tower, viewed from the Bell tower

That second story looks pretty high to me.
DocMoreau

en.wikipedia.org...

The Drum Tower was built in 1272 during the reign of Kublai Khan, at which time it stood at the very heart of the Yuan capital Khanbaliq. At that time it was known as the Tower of Orderly Administration (Qizhenglou).
In 1420, under the Ming Emperor Yongle, the building was reconstructed to the east of the original site and in 1800 under the Qing Emperor Jiaqing, large-scale renovations were carried out. In 1924, the name of the building was changed to the Tower of Realizing Shamefulness (Mingchilou) and objects related to the Eight-Power Allied Forces’ invasion of Beijing and later the May 30 Massacre of 1925 were put on display. Nowadays, the upper story of the building serves as the People’s Cultural Hall of the East City District.
In the 1980s, after much repair, the Bell and Drum Towers were opened to tourists.

Whoa, somehow I missed this part of the wikipedia article...
en.wikipedia.org...

An American tourist was stabbed to death and a second tourist was badly hurt in the attack at the Drum Tower monument on 9 August 2008. The pair were relatives of a Team USA volleyball coach who were in the city for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The assailant, 47-year-old Tang Yongming, committed suicide by jumping from the tower after the attack.[1]

Wow, I am completely baffled about the speed this news is travelling...

The external source for the wiki is the bbc
US tourist dies in Beijing attack

I don't know how to check and see who is editing wiki pages or whatever, but if someone did, I wonder who posted that information up?!

It is almost like the Chinese want this to get out...
DocMoreau

From Reuters China:
cn.reuters.com...

Assaults on foreigners are rare in Beijing, host of the 2008 Olympic Games. Police said both the American woman and Chinese tour guide were out of danger, without elaborating.

"While at the Drum Tower in central Beijing, the two family members were stabbed 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 seriously injured," the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Tang Yongming, 47, from the eastern city of Hangzhou, leapt from the second storey of the Drum Tower after the assault, police said in a statement.

Local police said they did not know the motive for the attack.

International police organisation Interpol said the attacker's name had not been found in any of its databases.

I find the part where the police saying that the surviving victims are 'out of danger' is odd. I also find the mention that Interpol has checked their databases to be very odd.

There are a Billion people in China, how many of them have ever left the country and gotten into Interpol's databases? Why would they even bother to look there?

I guess they can't be lone gunmen without guns...
DocMoreau

[edit on 9/8/2008 by DocMoreau]

Originally posted by DocMoreau
Whoa, somehow I missed this part of the wikipedia article...
en.wikipedia.org...

An American tourist was stabbed to death and a second tourist was badly hurt in the attack at the Drum Tower monument on 9 August 2008. The pair were relatives of a Team USA volleyball coach who were in the city for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The assailant, 47-year-old Tang Yongming, committed suicide by jumping from the tower after the attack.[1]

Wow, I am completely baffled about the speed this news is travelling...

The external source for the wiki is the bbc
US tourist dies in Beijing attack

I don't know how to check and see who is editing wiki pages or whatever, but if someone did, I wonder who posted that information up?!

It is almost like the Chinese want this to get out...

DocMoreau

Maybe not. That quote isn`t in the Wikipedia article anymore.

Looks like China`s been doing some editing.

Is this story tied in with the firing of that american coach who refused to train altheletes 7 days a week. I just seen a cable program showing how intense the chinese are in training there atheletes. They showed little kids of 3 on up in extreme regiments of training where the kids are pushed over the limits and begin to cry.

I think asia is a bruttle place when it comes to gaining fame and fortunes.

Also. I just watched most shocking episode about chinese motorcyclist who wait for victims, grab there luggage/purses and drive off. This is at bus stops and one lady was beaten down for resisting and not letting go of her bags. Than a chinese guy is walking in a square with his wife and you see him pull a knife from behind his back and stab the living crap outa her.

The knife or sword is the item of choice to kill in asia.

Originally posted by Peepers
Also. I just watched most shocking episode about chinese motorcyclist who wait for victims, grab there luggage/purses and drive off. This is at bus stops and one lady was beaten down for resisting and not letting go of her bags. Than a chinese guy is walking in a square with his wife and you see him pull a knife from behind his back and stab the living crap outa her.

The knife or sword is the item of choice to kill in asia.

I don`t see how this is relevant. China has 1.3 billion people, of course they`re going to have violent muggings.. just like any other country on earth.

Relevant intent driven by the actual violent act performed upon a victim. Violence, no matter how delivered has relevant connection. The actor(s), even under death by government, still performs violence relevant to mugging, stabbing, beating and knifing victims.

What are you guys surprised about the news getting out? It is an international event with international participation. This is not even the type of news the Chinese would censor.

They report murders and stuff all the time. Its the ideological and political stuff they censor, not random crime.

Originally posted by ben420

Maybe not. That quote isn`t in the Wikipedia article anymore.

Looks like China`s been doing some editing.

Seriously, does anyone know how to track the edits on wikipedia? I remember hearing something about it, but don't remeber what it is called.

DoMoreau

[edit on 9/8/2008 by DocMoreau]

Originally posted by ben420

Originally posted by Peepers
Also. I just watched most shocking episode about chinese motorcyclist who wait for victims, grab there luggage/purses and drive off. This is at bus stops and one lady was beaten down for resisting and not letting go of her bags. Than a chinese guy is walking in a square with his wife and you see him pull a knife from behind his back and stab the living crap outa her.

The knife or sword is the item of choice to kill in asia.

I don`t see how this is relevant. China has 1.3 billion people, of course they`re going to have violent muggings.. just like any other country on earth.

I agree, of course China has violent muggings. However, China rarely has is attacks on foreign tourists (see the quote I posted towards the beginning). Also, this specific attack was not a botched dash and grab via a motorcycle. This was an attack at a known tourist attraction, where the assailant, Tang Yongming, committed suicide immediately afterward. Someone edited out the quote out of the wikipedia article apparently, possibly the Chinese...

Something is up with this story, hopefully some is willing to look into it further...
DocMoreau