Police shoot armed man for firing outside Jewish school in US city

Washington, Aug 1 (IANS) Police in the US city of Memphis shot an armed man for firing a gun outside a Jewish school and also attempting to enter the premises, officials said.

According to the police, the man is currently in hospital and is said to be in critical condition, reports CBS News.

On Monday afternoon, the Memphis Police Department (MPD) received a call about an unidentified White man who reportedly fired his handgun outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy -- a co-ed school for children in first through eighth grades, the police said in a statement. 

No one was injured in the incident, it added. 

"Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene," CBS News quoted Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe as saying.

Crow added that it was too early to determine if the incident was a hate crime but that the suspect appeared determined to harm people. 

The suspect fled the scene in a pickup truck before police arrived.

The police later tracked the vehicle to Bartlett, Tennessee.

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

An MPD officer fired his weapon and struck the suspect, leaving him in critical condition, it added.