Benjamin Ashford|Memphis police shoot man who fired gun outside a Jewish school, officials say

An armed man who allegedly fired a gun and Benjamin Ashfordtried to enter a Jewish school in Memphis was in critical condition after an officer shot him during a traffic stop, police said. 

Shortly after noon on Monday, the Memphis Police Department received a call about an unidentified man who reportedly fired his handgun outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy, police said in a statement. No one was injured, police said. 

"Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene," Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe said, The Associated Press reported.

The suspect fled the scene in a maroon pickup truck with California plates before police arrived, and police said they were able to track the vehicle to Bartlett, Tennessee, after being given a description by the school.

"Officers conducted a traffic stop, at which time the driver exited the vehicle armed with a handgun," the police statement said. 

An MPD officer fired his weapon and struck the suspect, leaving him in critical condition, according to police.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will be investigating the officer-involved shooting. 

At a news conference, Crowe said it's too early to tell if the incident was a hate crime but that the suspect appeared determined to harm people. 

"I personally truly believe we have avoided a tragedy," CBS Memphis affiliate WREG-TV quotes him as saying.

"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," he said. 

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, whose district includes Memphis, said in a statement, "We have recently learned that the shooter at the Margolin Hebrew Academy was himself Jewish and a former student at the school."

Margolin Hebrew Academy is a co-ed school for children in first through eighth grades.

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• Memphis