Two members of the Tennessee National Guard shot and killed an armed man early Sunday in Memphis, law enforcement said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said today that Memphis police and National Guard soldiers who are in the city as part of a federal task force responded to reports of gunfire just before 4 a.m.
Memphis police officers were chasing a man armed with a hand gun. Tennessee National Guard soldiers joined the chase for the armed man, identified as 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson.
“For reasons under investigation, the situation escalated, resulting in two National Guard soldiers firing upon Johnson, striking and killing him,” the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in its statement.
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The Memphis Police Department said that Johnson “turned toward NG members with his weapon. Tennessee National Guard soldiers discharged their weapons, striking the male. The male was pronounced deceased at the scene.” The bureau is now investigating the fatal shooting at the request of the district attorney general.
The Tennessee National Guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Task & Purpose, but in a statement shared with the local paper The Commercial Appeal said that two National Guard medics provided first aid but Johnson died at the scene.
Downtown Memphis had been hosting large 4th of July celebrations only a few hours earlier.
Several hundred Tennessee National Guard troops deployed to Memphis in October 2025, in support of a federal task force set up by President Donald Trump in September. That task force includes a number of federal agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The troops are operating under Gov. Bill Lee’s authority, rather than having been federalized, as troops deployed to Los Angeles last year were. The National Guard is part of the larger Memphis Safe Task Force. The deployment of the military has sparked ongoing legal challenges, including a temporary injunction. However in April a state appeals court overturned that, letting the National Guard’s deployment continue.
