Along with bitterer relationship between US and China, economic crisis, nationwide lockdowns, the novel Coronavirus has also triggered several controversies such as Wuhan lab conspiracy, China's COVID-19 cover-up and Donald Trump's negligence to heed early Coronavirus warning are a few but the latest trend is alarming.
Now, US officials said that a researcher said to be on the process of "making very significant" Coronavirus discoveries was shot to death in Pennsylvania.
Who was Bing Liu?
He was a researcher for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The 37-year-old researcher was shot in the head and his neck. As per the Allegheny County Medical Examiner, his dead body was found inside his home in Ross Township north of Pittsburgh on Saturday, May 2.
It should be noted that Liuui had earned a PhD in computational science from the National University of Singapore. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University and later he became a researcher with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The University of Pittsburgh addressed Liu in a statement as an excellent mentor and prolific researcher who had co-authored over 30 papers. His work focused on system biology. In recent years, he had three publications in Nature Chem Biol, three in Radiation Research, two in Scientific Reports, one in Science Signaling, one in International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and one in Frontiers in Pharmacology.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine stated that Liu 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."
In addition, it also mentioned that now the school will make an effort to complete what Liu had started "in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence."
The killer of Liu
As per the agency, an hour later Liu's body was discovered, a 46-year-old man, Hao Gu was found dead inside a car less than a mile away from the researcher's residence. According to NBC News, Ross Township Police Detective Sergeant Brian Kohlhepp said that both the deceased men knew each other.
As per the investigators, it was Gu who killed Liu and when he was returning, he killed himself by a gunshot inside the vehicle. However, authorities are still investigating their relationship and the motive behind the killing.
