Memphis police shot a suspect after he tried to enter a Jewish school with a gun on Monday. The suspect fired shots after he couldn’t get into the building, the Associated Press reports. Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe said the suspect approached Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, fired several shots and then left in a maroon truck. “Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene,” Crowe said. Officers soon found the suspect’s vehicle, then shot the suspect after he exited the truck with a firearm in hand. The suspect was sent to a hospital.
Crowe said officers were trying to determine if the case was a hate crime. “It’s way too early for that. Again, we’re very early in this investigation,” Crowe said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is handling the case. Oscar Gomez said two of his teenage children were outside their house when the man was shot in their neighborhood. They told him about the shooting when he arrived home from work, he said. “They heard the shooting, and they threw themselves on the floor trying to protect themselves,” Gomez said. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, whose district includes Memphis, said he was “shocked” to hear about the incident and noted that acts of “violent antisemitism” are on the rise across the U.S.