Jerusalem (AFP) - Jerusalem police on Wednesday shot and wounded the driver of a car who rammed a group of pedestrians at a tram stop, seriously wounding three people.

"A private car hit passengers from the light rail near the police national headquarters. The car's driver attempted to escape and was shot, apparently by a police officer from the Jerusalem district," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.

A spokesman for the emergency services said three people were seriously wounded. Another two people were moderately hurt and four more were said to have sustained light injuries.