A 37-year-old researcher was found dead inside a house on Saturday, May 2, in Pennsylvania, the United States, NBC News reported.

The deceased, named Bing Liu, was a research assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine. 

Second body found in a car nearby

According to the Allegheny County medical examiner, Liu had been shot in the head and the neck.

About an hour after Liu's body was discovered, a second body was found in a car less than a mile (1.6km) away.

The second person found dead was reportedly 46 years old, and named Hao Gu.

Investigators believe the men knew each other, and suspect that Gu had shot Liu before going back to his car and killing himself, CNN reported.

The police also ruled out the possibility that Liu was targetted due to him being Chinese.

About to make some major Covid-19-related findings

Liu's university issued a statement after his death, with his colleagues saying that he 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". 

Liu's colleagues described him as an excellent researcher and mentor, and pledged to finish up his research to "pay homage to his scientific excellence".

Before working at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Liu had earned a Ph.D. in computational science from the National University of Singapore, then went on to work as a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. 

Top image via University of Pittsburgh