Expert 'on verge of virus findings' shot dead in US

6th May 2020 | Source: BBC

A researcher who was said to be on the verge of making significant findings about the corinavirus has been shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide, US officials said.

Bing Liu, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, was found dead at an address in Ross Township, north of Pittsburgh, on Saturday, the local medical examiner said.

Shortly afterwards police found the body of a second man, Hao Gu, in a car less than a mile away. Investigators told NBC they believed Hao Gu had killed Dr Liu and then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said an investigation was under way.

In a statement on its website, the medical school described Dr Liu - who had studied at the National University of Singapore - as an "outstanding researcher" who had made unique contributions to science. It said Dr Liu "was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms" behind the coronavirus, adding: "We will make an effort to complete what he started in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence."