My heart goes out to the Bruin nation

There’s plenty of hate between USC and their rival UCLA. Together they compete for complete dominance of a single city, splitting the population in half, and allowing children to secure the future with the same hate that drives us today. But it takes just one moment, and just one act, to make us realize our similarities. One of those moments occurred this weekend, as Todd Bachman, the father of former UCLA volleyball player and 2004 Olympian Elisabeth Bachman, tragically lost his life to a senseless act of violence in Beijing.

Elisabeth was at the Drum Tower with her parents when the incident occurred, but was not harmed. Her father died from the stab wounds received from a crazed attacker. Her mother, Barbara, also became a victim, and at last report, said to be in serious condition. The attacker, identified as 47 year old Tang Yongmin, followed up his violence by throwing himself from the second story balcony of the tower, where he died in the street. This wasn’t a robbery or quarrel. It was one man, in one moment, changing the lives of one family. This was an Olympiad, less than a day old, already claiming a casualty.

My heart goes out to the Bachman family and Bruin nation. We are forever separated on gamedays, but as an American, I am unified in grief.