BEIJING -- The victims of a deadly stabbing attack at a tourist site in Beijing on the first day of the Olympic Games were the in-laws of the U.S. men's volleyball coach, the U.S Olympic Committee said Saturday.

The committee said Todd Bachman of Lakeville, Minn., the father of former U.S. Olympian Elisabeth Bachman, was killed. His wife, Barbara, suffered "serious and life-threatening" injuries and was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment.

The assailant also stabbed and injured a Chinese woman serving as a tour guide with the Americans. He then committed suicide by throwing himself off a 130-foot-high balcony of the ancient landmark the Americans were visiting, the 13th century Drum Tower, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Todd Bachman was president and CEO of Bachman's Inc., a Minneapolis-area garden center chain founded by his great-grandfather, Henry Bachman Sr., in 1885.

Their daughter, Elisabeth Bachman, a member of the 2004 U.S. women's volleyball team, is married to U.S. men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon. She was present during the attack but was not injured, according to the USOC.

Personnel from the USOC and the United States Embassy were assisting the Bachman family at the hospital, the committee said.

The brutal attack shortly after midday was all the more shocking because of the rarity of violent crime against foreigners 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 it 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.

"It is impossible to describe the depth of our sadness and shock in this tragic hour," said USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth. "Our delegation comes to the Games as a family, and when one member of our family suffers a loss, we all grieve with them. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with the Bachman and McCutcheon families."

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.

London 2012! I'll be there as much as humanly possible. Start planning your trip now!

I can only imagine how much more expensive London will be at that time...

This delay is killing me, I can't tell the difference between tape and live, I'm thinking the team gymnastics is taped just from the cut aways seem to happen a lot and I miss nothing.

Why am I watching gymnastics?

because eastern and central timezone are getting it LIVE.
you and teh west coast are watching it tape delayed.