A recent Temple graduate was fatally shot in West Philadelphia

» UPDATE: Police on Friday said the shooting was “completely unprovoked,” and they no longer think it was a robbery.

A recent Temple University graduate was fatally shot early Thursday in the Powelton section of the city in what detectives are investigating as a robbery, police said.

Just before 12:30 a.m., Everett Beauregard, 23, was shot once in the neck on the 400 block of North 35th Street. He was rushed by officers to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center but died a short time later, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.

Vanore said detectives believe the shooting was part of a robbery — a crime that has risen starkly across the city in the last few years. He said police are in the early stages of poring over video collected from the scene, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Beauregard, born and raised in Chester County, had just graduated from Temple in June and was working as an operations processor for Wells Fargo bank in Philadelphia, according to his LinkedIn. He was involved with political organizing for the area’s Democratic Party, and in 2018, interned for U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle.

He was a Great Valley High School alum, and planned to return to school in the winter to earn an MBA, his family said in a statement.

“Everett was always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needed his attention, love and humor,” the Beauregard family said.

In a statement, Temple said Beauregard’s death is “the latest example of the senseless and harrowing gun violence epidemic that continues to grip both this city and this country.”

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Boyle said Beauregard’s work for his 2018 congressional campaign made “great contributions to our electoral victory.”

“We will truly miss him and we grieve along with his family and friends during this difficult time,” Boyle said in a statement.

Beauregard’s killing comes as the city’s gun violence crisis continues at a record pace, slightly exceeding last year’s number of homicides and shootings. As of Wednesday, 392 people had been killed in homicides.

And if the motive of his death is confirmed as a robbery, it would come amid a significant increase in armed robberies.

Through Sept. 21 this year, 2,130 robberies with a firearm were reported in the city, according to data from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, which is a 60% uptick over the same time the previous year, and a 90% rise over the same time in 2020.

The total number of robbery offenses, with and without a weapon, are at about the same level they were before the pandemic, data show, but now, more offenders are committing the crime with guns.

In the 16th Police District, where Beauregard was killed, 63 firearm robberies have been reported this year as of Sept. 20, according to police data. This is just one incident higher than the previous year, but a 36% rise over 2020.