Professor ‘on verge of making COVID-19 findings’ shot dead in US

ISLAMABAD: A University of Pittsburgh professor, who was reportedly on the verge of making significant findings regarding the novel coronavirus, was shot dead in the US state of Pennsylvania in an apparent murder-suicide over the weekend.

According to international media reports on Wednesday, the research assistant professor, identified as Bing Liu, was found in his townhouse Saturday with gunshot wounds to the head, neck, torso and extremities, according to police.

Police officials believe an unknown second man, who was found dead in his car, shot and killed Liu in his home before returning to the car and taking his own life, the report added.

A probe into the murder revealed that the men knew each other. However, there is “zero indication that there was targeting due to his (Liu) being Chinese,” according to Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp.

Following Liu’s death, the university issued a statement saying it is “deeply saddened by the tragic death of Bing Liu, a prolific researcher and admired colleague at Pitt.

“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,” his colleagues at the university’s Department of Computational and Systems Biology said in a statement.