A University of Pittsburgh researcher who claimed to have been on the verge of a significant breakthrough in his research on the coronavirus was killed in what appears to me a murder-suicide on Saturday, WTAE, a local ABC News affiliate, reported.

Police found 37-year-old Bing Liu, who worked as an assistant professor at the university, dead in his house in Ross Township, having been shot by someone who then went to his car and shot himself.

The second man, identified as 46-year-old Hao Gu, was found dead in his vehicle.

Liu was working at the Pitt School of Medicine's department of computational and systems biology and was supposedly on the verge of a significant breakthrough in his studies on the coronavirus, according to a written statement by the department.

"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," the department said.

"We will make an effort to complete what he started in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence."

While police have stated that Liu and Gu knew each other, authorities have not yet discussed a possible motive.

Pittsburgh police are treating Liu's death as a homicide, "we haven't had anything at this point that has come to the investigation that has anything to do with Mr. Liu's employment or his research," Ross Township Detective Brian Kolhepp said.

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