US Olympic coach's relative stabbed to death by Chinese man in Beijing

A knife-wielding Chinese man has stabbed to death the father-in-law of the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball coach at a popular tourist site in Beijing.

Todd Bachman, whose daughter Elisabeth is married to the US men's volleyball coach, was stabbed at the 13th-century Drum Tower, which lies just three miles from the main Olympics site.

Mr Bachman's wife, Barbara, and a female Chinese tour guide were hospitalised.

The attacker, named as Tang Yongming, 47,  from the eastern city of Hangzhou,  then committed suicide by throwing himself from the 130ft-high second floor of the tower.

Chinese forensic officers leave the Drum Tower after investigating the murder

The attack occurred just hours after competition started for the Olympic Games.

Mr Bachmann's daughter Elisabeth was a former Olympic volleyball player who represented the U.S at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Police blocked off streets leading to the Drum Tower immediately after the attack and cordoned off the area with yellow police tape.

Former Olympian Elisabeth Bachman. Her father Todd was stabbed to death in Beijing on the first day of the Olympics

Security officers were examining the scene on the tower and below.

A spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee said the American volleyball team were 'deeply saddened and shocked' by the incident.

The U.S. embassy said diplomats had been dispatched to the Beijing hospital where the surviving tourist and the local tour guide had been rushed shortly after noon.

A spokesman said: 'We are working with the Chinese authorities to find out more on the cause of the incident.'

The Americans 'were not wearing apparel or anything that would have specifically identified them as being members of our delegation', or as Americans, he added.

He said it was 'too early to say' whether the U.S. delegation or athletes would require additional security.

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

A White House official said George Bush, who is in Beijing for the start of the Games, was aware of the attack.

Officers investigate the spot where the man was killed

'The President has been informed and his heart goes out to the families of the victims,' an official said.

'The White House and U.S. embassy have offered whatever assistance the family needs. U.S. officials have also been in touch with Chinese authorities on the matter.

Attacks on foreigners in China are extremely rare. A Canadian model was murdered last month in Shanghai because she stumbled onto a burglary.

In March, a police sniper shot to death a man strapped with bombs who commandeered a bus carrying 10 Australians in the tourist city of Xi'an.

Security guards at a Hong Kong stadium drag away protester Christina Chan, who had tried to display the Tibetan flag

The Chinese authorities have imposed unprecedented security measures in Beijing an elsewhere to prevent protests or other trouble.

Security officers today grappled with a protester in Hong Kong who tried to display the Tibetan flag during the Olympic equestrian competition today.

Student Christina Chan was grabbed as she peeled off the Canadian flag on her placard to reveal the Tibetan one underneath.

She refused to leave and officers carried her out of the venue about half an hour later.

Miss Chan said later that she wanted to raise awareness that China had failed to live up to its promise to improve its human rights record after winning the bid to host the Olympics. 'I don't think I did anything that hurt anyone,' she said.

TV footage also showed a man wearing a T-shirt that said 'Democracy and human rights are more important than the Olympics.' He was asked to take off the shirt before entering the venue.

Protesters stage a 'die-in' in Tiananmen Square

Other protesters held a banner near the Hong Kong venue demanding China abolish the death penalty.

In Beijing activists held a 'die-in' in Tiananmen Square, site of the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy campaigners by Chinese troops.

Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most overseas cities of their size.

Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier than for crimes against Chinese, and police-linked neighbourhood watch groups are highly vigilant.

Chinese citizens are not allowed to own guns.

Even so, the U.S. government now warns Americans against muggings, beatings and even car-jackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities.

The Drum Tower where today's attack took place is one of the few ancient structures still in Beijing. In imperial China it was used to announce the time for Beijing's citizens, as drummers pounded their instruments to mark the hours.

It is located on an important central axis of the city, to the north of the Forbidden City, the former home of the emperor.