Memphis, TN – An armed man tried to enter a Jewish school in Memphis on Monday afternoon and then opened fire outside the building when he couldn’t get inside.

Memphis Police Assistant Chief Don Crowe said the incident began at about 12:20 p.m. on July 31 at the Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, located in the 300-block of South White Station Road, CNN reported.

Assistant Chief Crowe said an armed man tried to enter the Hebrew school but could not get in.

“When he could not gain entry, he fired shots outside the school,” he told reporters at a media briefing after the incident.

Authorities said nobody was hurt at the school, but the incident didn’t end there, CNN reported.

The school called police and provided officers with a description of the suspect and his vehicle, as well as a picture from the building’s security cameras that showed the man carrying a gun in his hand.

Assistant Chief Crowe said police officers spotted the suspect vehicle and short time later and stopped it, CNN reported.

The suspect got out of the maroon Dodge Ram pickup truck holding a gun and officers shot him.

He was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition, CNN reported.

Assistant Chief Crowe said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) was heading up the investigation into the officer-involved shooting with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The police official said it was “way too early” to know whether the gunman’s motive was an antisemitic hate crime, CNN reported.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis praised the quick response to stop the suspect.

“I am proud of the vigilant and quick response of MPD officers who mitigated a potential mass shooting situation today,” Chief Davis said. ““Many thanks to our neighboring jurisdictions for also providing critical information to stop the suspect’s actions.”

Assistant Chief Crowe said the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Bartlett Police Department were instrumental in helping track down and arrest the suspect, CNN reported.

BREAKING: Earlier this afternoon there was an active shooter at the Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis, Tennessee.

Details:

– The shooter, pictured in the image below, fired off between 2-4 shots from a hand gun shortly after entering the building at approximately 1:30PM

-… pic.twitter.com/sILDkDC0V6

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) July 31, 2023

A press release has been sent from Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis, Tennessee after reports of shots fired. pic.twitter.com/CO4zUBq0D1

— Dredre babb (@DredreBabb) July 31, 2023

BREAKING: Police confirm a man is in critical condition after firing shots outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy with a gun. He left the school, and police caught up with him in Berclair and shot him. Police say it’s too soon to tell if this is a hate crime. @3onyourside pic.twitter.com/y3ZIyagOOz

— Ashley Paul (@AshleyPaulNews) July 31, 2023

SHOOTING OUTSIDE JEWISH SCHOOL: A man is in custody after police say he fired shots outside of the Margolin Hebrew Academy Monday afternoon. No students were in the school at the time. Rob & Gila Golder have 2 children who could’ve been in a classroom. @3onyourside pic.twitter.com/Y7wv7i04YA

— Shay Arthur (@ShayA_WREG3) July 31, 2023

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