BEIJING – The U.S. men’s indoor volleyball coach has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the Olympic team following the murder of his father-in-law and near-fatal stabbing of his mother-in-law at a Beijing tourist site.

Hugh McCutcheon left the No. 3-ranked American squad Sunday before its Beijing Games opener, a 3-2 win over Venezuela, as players grieved, U.S. Olympic Committee officials remained steadfast and Chinese authorities increased security.

A 47-year-old Chinese man stabbed Todd Bachman to death and critically wounded Bachman’s wife, Barbara, at the Drum Tower, then committed suicide Saturday by jumping off a 130-foot balcony. According to Xinhua news service, police said Tang Yongming acted out of despair over two failed marriages, and a 21-year-old son who had been charged with fraud.

Barbara Bachman, of Lakeville, Minn., remains in critical but stable condition at a Beijing hospital after eight hours of surgery for “multiple lacerations and stab wounds,” according to the Colorado Springs-based USOC.

Taking advice from Olympic organizers and the U.S. Embassy in China, the USOC won’t add security to its 596-person delegation, which includes 54 Colorado Springs athletes, spokesman Darryl Seibel said.

The Drum Tower, a 13th-century landmark, was closed Sunday to visitors, and Chinese police beefed up security at popular tourist destinations around the city of 17.4 million to complement 100,000 guards at 34 Olympic venues.

Before their match, McCutcheon’s players, coached by assistant Ron Larsen, embraced in a circle on the court for a moment of silence and marked their shoes with initials of McCutcheon and Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon, a 2004 Olympic volleyball player married to McCutcheon.

“We really felt the loss as one of our own,” U.S. captain Tom Hoff said. “Maybe that’s why it hurts so much. It hit so close.”

McCutcheon, 38, hasn’t seen his players since he got word of the attack Saturday afternoon during practice at Beijing Normal University. He addressed them by phone Saturday night, telling outside hitter Riley Salmon and his 11 teammates, “Our main goal is to take a medal in the Olympics, and no one understands that more than you. We’ve stressed it for a long time. That’s all we’ve talked about almost every day at practice.”

Salmon called McCutcheon the “decision-maker” for an experienced team in search of its first Olympic gold medal in 20 years, noting there’s “a difference when he’s not there. . “I know he’s supporting us, and I hope he’ll get back as soon as he can.”

Said setter Lloy Ball: “You’ve got to live your life. You can’t live in fear or anger. All you can do is send your prayers and sympathies to the family and continue what Hugh would want us to do, and that’s try to win a gold medal.”

Team leader Rob Browning said there isn’t a timetable for McCutcheon’s return.

“He doesn’t know if or when he’ll be able to return,” Browning said. “He’ll decide that as things progress.”

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