A man, reportedly armed and who discharged his weapon outside a Jewish school in Memphis, is now critically injured after a police officer shot him during a traffic stop. The Memphis Police Department received a distress call about the incident at the Margolin Hebrew Academy just after noon on Monday. The police have confirmed that no one was hurt in the incident.
The school’s robust safety measures were praised by Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe, who credited them with preventing any casualties. The suspect had fled the scene in a maroon pickup truck with California license plates before the police arrived. However, the police were able to locate him in Bartlett, Tennessee, thanks to a description provided by the school.
The police report states that during a traffic stop, the driver, armed with a handgun, got out of the vehicle. A Memphis Police Department officer then fired his weapon, critically injuring the suspect. The officer-involved shooting is set to be investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
At a subsequent press conference, Crowe suggested that it was premature to label the incident as a hate crime. However, he did express his belief that the suspect had intended to cause harm. He stated, “I think the suspect was going to harm somebody before the day was over and that our officers were able to intervene and protect the citizens.”
Democratic Representative Steve Cohen, who represents the Memphis district, disclosed in a statement that the shooter was a former student of the Margolin Hebrew Academy and was himself Jewish. The academy is a mixed-gender school for children from first to eighth grades.