A Temple University police officer was fatally shot while responding to a crime near campus

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A Temple University police officer was fatally shot while responding to a crime near campus Saturday night, authorities said.

The university’s vice president of public safety, Jennifer Griffin, said this was the first line-of-duty death in the department’s history, according to NBC Philadelphia.

The shooting was reported a few blocks west of the North Philadelphia campus after 7 p.m., according to a statement from Temple University.

The university said the officer was shot while trying to detain a person suspected of robbing a convenience store. The shooting occurred several blocks from the store, according to the statement.

NBC Philadelphia, citing police, reported that the officer was shot when he tried to intervene in a carjacking.

The officer was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he died, the institution said.

The officer’s identity was withheld “out of respect for the officer’s friends and family,” Temple University President Jason Wingard said in a statement. statement. He said the shooter fled the area.

“There are simply no words that can make sense of this tragedy,” Wingard said. “It tears apart our sense of community and security.”

Governor Josh Shapiro tweeted that he and First Lady Lori Shapiro were “devastated” for the family of the officer who was killed while “valiantly serving his community.”

“May his memory be a blessing,” Shapiro said.

Gemma Di Casimirro, Brittany Kubicko and Elizabeth Malina contributed.

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