MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The man indicted on charges in connection with trying to enter a Jewish school with a gun and firing it at a contractor there before he was shot by police is now out of jail after posting bond in two separate cases after the amounts were reduced.
According to court records, a Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Joel Bowman April 25. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, assault on a first responder, carrying a weapon on school property, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
Bowman was also indicted on a separate burglary charge on Sept. 26.
Court records show the bond in the school shooting case was reduced on April 25 from $750,000 to $100,000, and paid on April 29. His bond on the burglary charge was also reduced from $250,000 to $100,000 on April 25, and also paid on April 29. He paid a total of $200,000 bond and was released April 30.
Bowman must follow several rules as a condition of his release on bond:
- He must remain on his own property and submit to GPS monitoring and facial recognition and GPS check-ins.
- He is not allowed at any synagogue without "prior written approval from the presiding rabbi of that synagogue."
- He is not allowed on the property of any religious facility without prior approval in writing.
- He is only allowed to travel to 201 Poplar, his lawyer's office, or his doctor's office, and he must be accompanied by his mother for that travel.
- He is also prohibited from possessing firearms.
Police said Bowman, 33, went on July 31 to Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South school in Memphis with a gun and tried to get inside, but he was denied entry. Class was not in session, but there were limited staff and construction workers there at the time.
In an affidavit, police said Bowman — who had attended the school — walked around its exterior and fired two shots at the contractor, who was not hit. Bowman then fired two more shots outside the school before driving away in a pickup truck, police said.
Officers tracked down Bowman a short drive from the school in a residential neighborhood. Investigators said Bowman exited his truck with a gun in his right hand and pointed the weapon at an officer, who shot him. Bowman was hospitalized in critical condition after the shooting.
A possible motive for the attempt to enter the school has not been disclosed.
Bowman's confrontation with police came 20 years after his father was fatally shot by officers while holding a gun during a mental health episode at the family home. Friends said Bowman was traumatized by his father's killing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.