FILE - 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)

National Guard members on patrol in Memphis fatally shoot man during pursuit, police say

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, told The Associated Press that he was  as good a boy as can be.  Johnson was living in Nashville, working in construction and taking university classes, she said. He had just had his first child earlier this year, she added.

Nelson said she was present with other members of Johnson's family when authorities told them that Johnson had been shot twice in the chest.

 I just want to know how they shot a 20-year-old twice in the chest - he hadn't harmed anyone,  Nelson said.

Law enforcement authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the number of shots fired. The TBI declined to comment on Nelson's accou

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