Saturday, August 09, 2008

"We know some things but we can't talk,"

A report from the Boston Globe about the attacked Americans:

Victims ID'd in Beijing stabbing
BEIJING -- A Chinese man stabbed the in-laws of the US Olympic men's volleyball coach, killing one and injuring the other while they visited a Beijing tourist site near the main venue where Olympic competitions began today, officials said.

Beijing authorities say a Chinese man attacked two American tourists on the opening day of the Olympic Games, killing one of them before committing suicide.

The victims were Todd and Barbara Bachman, parents of former Olympian Elisabeth Bachman who is married to men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon. Bachman's father was killed, the Associated Press has learned.

The assailant also stabbed and injured a Chinese tour guide with the Americans.

Chinese officials identified the assailant as Tang Yongming, 47, who comes from the eastern city of Hangzhou, and authorities said the man jumped to his death from the second floor of the tower after the attack.

[...]

Yesterday afternoon outside the Drum Tower, a popular tourist attraction surrounded by traditional alley-style hutong dwellings, some residents and shopkeepers said they heard that the Chinese man may have gotten into an argument with the American before stabbing him and that he never jumped outside the tower. Others said they heard about a suicidal jump. Because the alleged attack took place inside the tower, none of the local residents or store owners said they witnessed anything that triggered the incident other than ambulances with sirens arriving around 12:30 p.m.

"When I arrived to work at noon, nothing had happened," said a cleaning lady at a linen store.

Many neighbors declined to discuss anything about what they know or saw, amid the swarm of international media that arrived at the scene within a couple of hours of the alleged incident.

"We know some things but we can't talk," said one resident. Throughout this site, police officers were stationed, as well as neighborhood security volunteers who seemed to be watching closely who was talking to reporters. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) "Security volunteers"? There are several things about this story that give me the creeps... and I have a feeling there will be more to come.
     

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