MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man who was shot by police after he fired a gun at a contractor outside his former Jewish school in Memphis in 2023 pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to eight years’ probation.
Joel Bowman, 35, entered guilty pleas to aggravated assault and aggravated burglary in a Memphis courtroom. Bowman was then sentenced by Shelby County Judge James Jones III. During the hearing, Bowman answered “yes sir” to questions from the judge about whether he understood his sentence.
Authorities said Bowman was armed when he went to Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South on July 31, 2023, but he was denied entry. Class was not in session, but a limited number of staff and construction workers were present.
Bowman is a former student of the school and played basketball there. While not apparently motivated by antisemitism, the shooting took place during a tide of increased fears of anti-Jewish sentiment in the country. It came weeks after a man was convicted of storming a Pittsburgh synagogue and killing 11 congregants in the deadliest shooting of Jewish people in U.S. history. He was later sentenced to death.
Police said Bowman walked around the exterior of the school and fired two shots at a contractor, who was not hit. Bowman then fired two more shots outside the school before driving away, police said.
When officers tracked him down nearby, he exited his pickup truck and pointed the gun at an officer, who shot him in the chest, police said. Bowman was hospitalized in critical condition and has since recovered.
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. A friend told The Associated Press in 2023 that Bowman was traumatized by his father’s death.
Bowman’s lawyer, Lauren Fuchs, said in court Friday that Bowman had been suffering from a mental health condition during the episode, but he is receiving treatment and is mentally competent.
Bowman had previously pleaded not guilty and was released on bond on charges including attempted second-degree murder, carrying a weapon on school property and aggravated burglary.
Leaders of Margolin School, which runs from pre-kindergarten through high school, have said safety measures installed over recent years deterred Bowman’s entry. The school has metal doors with electronic fob access, security cameras, and an emergency response system that allows police to be quickly notified of an active shooter.
Margolin strengthened security measures after the shooting, including changing locks and entry codes, and employing more guards on campus, school officials said.
In a statement, Brandy Flack, the school's executive director, said “this is not the outcome we hoped for, but our focus remains on safety, healing, and moving forward as a community.”
During a bond hearing in January 2024, witnesses said an armed Bowman also went to the home and office of his former school basketball coach, and to another school, on the day of the shooting. Another witness testified that Bowman, holding a gun, broke into his house the same day.
FILE - Joel Bowman, center-left, seated with mask, listens to witness testimony as his lawyer, Lauren Massey Fuchs, left, prosecutor Forrest Edwards, center-right, and prosecutor John Scott, right listens during a bond hearing on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz, File)
Joel Bowman, standing second left, speaks with his lawyer Lauren Fuchs at the conclusion of a court hearing on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
Joel Bowman, left, takes the stand before Shelby County Judge James Jones III on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting continued to rage Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire.
Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia has not commented on Trump’s claim. Its defense ministry instead said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning. Cambodian media reported Trump’s claim without elaborating.
The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
About two dozen people have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border.
The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while estimating there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded.
Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had after his call with Trump said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday including dissolving Parliament so new elections could be held early next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.
He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed,' Hun Manet wrote.
Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.
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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
