Bing Liu, 37, a COVID-19 researcher at the University of Pittsburgh who was “on the verge of making very significant” findings, was shot dead at his Ross Township home on Saturday (May 2). Authorities say upon discovering the professor’s body, with gunshot wounds to the head and neck, an hour later, a second person, Hao Gu, 46, was found dead inside a car less than a mile away.
Ross Township police Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp confirmed the two men knew each other, and believe that Gu killed Liu before killing himself after a “lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner.” Investigators say, “We have found zero evidence that this tragic event has anything to do with employment at the University of Pittsburgh, any work being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and the current health crisis affecting the United States and the world.”
In a statement released by the university, they stated, “Bing was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 infection and the cellular basis of the following complications. We will make an effort to complete what he started in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence.”
