National Guard soldiers fatally shoot man with gun in downtown Memphis

A state investigation is underway after members of the Tennessee National Guard shot and killed a 20-year-old man in downtown Memphis on Sunday morning while they were patrolling the streets as part of a task force created by President Donald Trump.

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the man as Tyrin Johnson.

According to the bureau, which is conducting the investigation, the National Guard soldiers involved in the shooting are assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force.

The task force, which includes several federal agencies, local police and the guard, was formed in September via a Trump declaration. Memphis is one of several Democratic-led cities where Trump has deployed federal forces to further his immigration and anti-crime agendas.

TBI spokesperson Kim Wheeler-Elder said Monday that the ongoing investigation was requested by the state’s attorney general’s office. TBI declined further comment because of the ongoing nature of the probe.

NBC News also has reached out to the Memphis Police Department.

The White House referred all questions about the investigation to the task force, whose communications are handled by U.S. Marshals.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the task force in Memphis and Washington, D.C., has led to drops in crime, removal of dangerous criminals from the streets, recovery of missing children, confiscation of illegal weapons and more.

According to TBI’s preliminary investigation, Memphis police were chasing, on foot, a man armed with a handgun, who had reportedly fired shots early Sunday. National Guard soldiers nearby joined the pursuit, TBI said in a statement.

“For reasons under investigation, the situation escalated, resulting in two National Guard soldiers firing upon Johnson, striking and killing him,” TBI said, adding that no law enforcement officers were hurt.

Memphis police said in a statement that they responded to a call that shots were fired in downtown Memphis. Officers saw a man carrying a gun, who fled on foot, the police statement said.

As police and National Guard soldiers assigned to the area were chasing him, the man “turned toward NG members with his weapon” and the soldiers “discharged their weapons,” police stated. The man was dead at the scene, police stated.

Terracle Nelson, 46, a cousin of Johnson, told The Associated Press that family members learned from authorities that Johnson had been shot twice in the chest.

Evaniel Johnson told the AP that the deceased was the father of a young child, was preparing to lead the family construction business and was passionate about making music. He said he was awaiting investigators’ findings and to see any video before making a judgment about what occurred.

“I believed in him, and I know he still had so much life ahead of him,” Johnson told the AP. “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.”

TBI, which said it will update the attorney general’s office as its investigation continues, will not make a determination on whether the officers’ actions were justified or identify the guard members involved, TBI stated.

Memphis had had in recent years some of the highest violent crime rates in the country.

In January, the Memphis Police Department reported a significant drop in crime during 2025, including fewer than 200 homicides that year, which is a number not seen since 2019.

An analysis by the Council on Criminal Justice of several large cities showed continued decline in most types of crimes in Memphis through 2025, the same as in other cities in the analysis.

The Memphis Safe Task Force has made 10,791 total arrests for a range of alleged crimes, said Brady McCarron, deputy chief of the U.S. Marshals Service public affairs office.

The fatal shooting Sunday was preceded by two fatal shootings by members of the Memphis Safe Task Force.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents shot Darrin Pigram , 41, when serving a warrant on him in May. Pigram later died at the hospital. The agency said Pigram had pulled a gun on the agents.

A week later, Jonah Neal was fatally shot by a Homeland Security special agent inside his home, where multiple weapons were found. As of June , TBI was investigating whether the agent fired the fatal shot or he died of a self-inflicted stab wound.

When the federally created task force began patrolling last October, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller urged the members to “police aggressively.”

“You are unleashed,” he said at the 2025 news conference with law enforcement agents to announce the Memphis task force. Miller added, “The gangbangers that you deal with, they think that they’re ruthless. They have no idea how ruthless we are.”

The deployment of Guard troops has been met with controversy. Black residents of the city have expressed fear of harassment and concerns about trading high crime for excessive policing. The city is 63% Black.

Opponents of the use of Guard forces in the city have filed a lawsuit to stop the deployment. A judge blocked their deployment last October, but that was overturned on appeal.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the state and federal governments alleging that people who try to document the patrolling activities of members of the task force are faced with retaliation.

In the lawsuit, individuals provided accounts of intimidation and in some cases violence against them and others documenting the task force activity.