National Guard members on patrol in Memphis fatally shoot man during
pursuit, police say
[July 06, 2026]
By JACK BROOK
Two Tennessee National Guard members assigned to a crime-fighting patrol
in Memphis fatally shot a man Sunday who turned toward the soldiers with
a gun during a downtown pursuit, authorities said.
The Guard members are part of a federal task force in Memphis created by
President Donald Trump, who last year sent troops and federal agents to
Democrat-run cities that he described as overrun with crime. Tennessee
Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, had deployed the Guard to support the
effort.
Authorities said the soldiers in Memphis were responding with local
police to reports of gunshots around 4 a.m. when they began pursuing an
armed man fleeing on foot. The guardsmen opened fire after the man
turned toward them with his weapon, according to the city's police
department.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the man as Tyrin
Johnson, 20, and said it is investigating the circumstances of the
shooting. No law enforcement officers were injured, the agency added.
Johnson died at the scene after two National Guard medical specialists
attempted first aid, Guard spokesperson Lt. Col Darrin Haas said in a
statement.
Johnson’s older cousin, Terracle Nelson, 46, said authorities told
family members that he had been shot twice in the chest. Authorities on
Sunday did not immediately respond to questions about the number of
shots fired and TBI declined to comment on Nelson's account of the
shooting.
Evaniel Johnson said his grandson had taken classes at Tennessee State
University, was the father of a young child and was preparing to help
lead the family construction business. He said his grandson was also
passionate about making music.
He said he wanted to review findings from investigators and any video of
the shooting before making judgment.
“I believed in him, and I know he still had so much life ahead of him,”
Johnson said. “The heartbreaking reality is that he will never have the
chance to enjoy what we were building together. That is a pain no
grandparent should ever have to endure.”
Mayor Paul Young called the shooting an “unfortunate incident” and said
he was waiting to see the results of the TBI investigation before
commenting further, according to a statement provided by spokesperson
Penelope Huston.
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Members from the National Guard working as part of the Memphis Safe
Task Force conduct a community safety patrol at Tom Lee Park, Oct.
12, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
A search of online records in federal and state courts Sunday did not
immediately show any cases related to Johnson. In Memphis and in
Nashville, local court records showed he had a handful of minor traffic
violations.
Federal troops have been patrolling the city since October over the
objections of Young, a Democrat. The troops are part of the Memphis Safe
Task Force, convened by Trump and comprised of federal and local
agencies.
The task force has led to more than 10,000 arrests, the U.S. Marshals
Service reported in June.
There have been at least four officer-involved shootings tied to the
task force, according to TBI data. Two of those shootings occurred in
May and did not involve National Guard members discharging their
weapons. The TBI also tied the task force to an October shooting, but
did not specify which law enforcement agencies were involved.
The TBI and the National Guard did not respond to questions about
whether Sunday's shooting was the first instance troops had fired their
weapons since they were deployed to the city.
For years, Memphis, whose population exceeds 600,000, has dealt with
high violent crime, including assaults, carjackings and homicides. Both
Democratic and Republican officials have noted decreases last year in
some crime categories, preceding the deployment and paralleling trends
across U.S. cities.
In April, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that state and local
Democratic officials lacked standing to block the deployment of federal
troops in Memphis.
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