University of Pittsburgh coronavirus researcher Bing Liu has been shot dead according to Allegheny County medical examiners. Liu was reportedly on the verge of a major breakthrough on the Wuhan coronavirus.

According to The Hill, Liu was found murdered in his home on Saturday with multiple gunshot wounds. Police believe the case to be a murder/suicide, as an associate of Liu’s was found dead in his car not far away:

Bing Liu, a 37-year-old research assistant professor at the university, was found shot and killed in his Ross Township townhouse Saturday with wounds to the head, neck, torso and extremities, the Allegheny County medical examiner said.

A second man that NBC News identified as Hao Gu, 46, was found dead in his car less than a mile away from Liu’s home. Investigators think Gu killed Liu in his home before killing himself, CNN reported.

Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp told both news outlets that investigators believe the men knew each other but that the relationship and motive are still being examined. There was “zero indication that there was targeting due to his [Liu] being Chinese,” he said.

According to the University of Pittsburg’s Department of Computational and Systems Biology claimed Liu was on the verge of making “significant findings” around SARS-CoV-2.

“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,” said the statement. ”We will make an effort to complete what he started in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence.”

Naturally, this has sparked a wide array of conspiracy theories, but it should be noted that police have yet to conclude the reasoning for the murder/suicide. The motives are still unknown.

According to Fox News, his colleagues describes Liu as a highly intelligent and kind man:

Ivet Bahar, the head of Liu’s department told the paper Liu was a very talented, extremely intelligent, and hard-working individual.

“He has been contributing to several scientific projects, publishing in high-profile journals,” Bahar said. “He was someone whom we all liked very much, a very gentle, very helpful, kind person, very generous.”

She added “We are all shocked to learn what happened to him. This was very unexpected.”

RedState will stay with the story and give updates as they emerge.