An armed man arrested in connection with gunfire outside a Jewish school in the US has been charged with attempted murder after a police thwarted a “potential mass shooting situation”, US officials have said.

The alleged suspect, Joel Alejandro Bowman, has been identified as a former student at the Margolin Hebrew Academy, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Bowman, 33, attempted to enter the Orthodox school, attended by children aged three to 18, while in possession of a handgun at around midday on Wednesday, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

When he could not get inside the premises, he allegedly fired multiple shots outside the building. He then got into his car and drove away before officers identified his vehicle about an hour later. Police said Bowman then got out of the car holding a gun. He was then shot by a police officer and taken to hospital, where he currently remains in critical condition. 

Bowman is thought to be Jewish, according to US media reports.

He has been charged with carrying weapons on school property, reckless endangerment, attempted second-degree murder, possessing a weapon during the commission or attempt to commit a dangerous felony and assault against a first responder.

In a letter to the families of the Margolin Hebrew Academy students, obtained by US broadcasted WHBQ-TV affiliate, the school said that Bowman engaged in a “brief confrontation” with an employee before firing two shots from his handgun “while retreating from this worker.” He then fired two more shots while leaving, according to the letter. 

No one in the school was injured, though Memphis police chief CJ Davis said officers had "mitigated a potential mass shooting situation".

A motive has not been disclosed at this time, and it remains uncertain as to whether the charge of attempted murder was in connection to the police encounter or the incident at the school.