An officer for the Temple University Police Department was shot and killed in Philadelphia Saturday while responding to a robbery, the university said.

The officer was trying to apprehend a suspect in connection with the robbery of a convenience store near campus when the shooting occurred, the university said in a statement to CBS News.

The officer was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the university said. His name was not immediately released.

"There are simply no words that can make sense of such a tragedy," the university said in its statement. "It tears at our sense of community, and wounds us to our very soul. Temple has lost an officer and hero to senseless violence."

The exact circumstances of the shooting were still unclear. There was no word on whether any suspects were in custody. Philadelphia police were assisting in the investigation, the university said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted that he and his wife were "devastated for the family of the Temple University police officer who was killed in the line of duty tonight, bravely serving his community."

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