Two Tennessee National Guard members assigned to a Trump administration crime-fighting patrol in Memphis fatally shot a man early Sunday after authorities said he turned toward them with a gun during a downtown foot chase.
The man was later identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson. The agency is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Shooting Happened During Downtown Memphis Patrol
According to the Memphis Police Department, the National Guard members were assisting local police after reports of gunfire around 4 a.m.
Authorities said officers and soldiers began chasing an armed man who was fleeing on foot.
Police said the guardsmen opened fire when the man turned toward them while holding a weapon.
No law enforcement officers were injured in the incident.
Tyrin Johnson Died at the Scene
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed Johnson’s identity and said it is reviewing what happened before and during the shooting.
National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Darrin Haas said two Guard medical specialists attempted to provide first aid after the shooting.
Johnson died at the scene.
Family Questions the Shooting
Johnson’s older cousin, Terracle Nelson, 46, told The Associated Press that Johnson was a good person.
She said he had been living in Nashville, working in construction and taking university classes. According to Nelson, Johnson had also recently become a father earlier this year.
Nelson said family members were told Johnson had been shot twice in the chest. She questioned why a 20-year-old who, in her view, had not harmed anyone was shot in that way.
Law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to questions about how many shots were fired. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on Nelson’s account.
Mayor Calls Incident Unfortunate
Memphis Mayor Paul Young described the shooting as an “unfortunate incident.”
Through spokesperson Penelope Huston, Young said he would wait for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to complete its review before making further comments.
National Guard Deployment in Memphis
Federal troops have been patrolling Memphis since October as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
The task force was launched by the Trump administration and includes federal and local agencies.
President Donald Trump ordered National Guard deployments in Memphis and five other Democrat-run cities, including New Orleans and Washington, D.C., saying the measures were needed to address crime.
However, violent crime in many Democrat-led cities has dropped significantly since pandemic-era highs.
Local Leaders Opposed Federal Intervention
Some local leaders in the affected cities have argued that federal intervention is unnecessary.
Several have also challenged the deployments in court.
In Memphis, Mayor Young, a Democrat, opposed the deployment, while Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, supported it.
Memphis Crime Trends
Memphis, a city with more than 600,000 residents, has struggled for years with high violent crime, including assaults, carjackings and homicides.
However, both Democratic and Republican officials have pointed to decreases in some crime categories last year.
Those declines began before the Guard deployment and were similar to crime trends seen in other U.S. cities.
Cost of Federal Deployments
The National Guard deployments have carried major costs.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the deployments cost nearly half a billion dollars through the end of December.
They are expected to cost taxpayers more than $1 billion this year.
Court Challenges Continue
In April, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that state and local Democratic officials did not have standing to block federal troop deployment in Memphis.
In May, four Memphis residents filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the task force from enforcing a law that prevents people from coming within 25 feet of law enforcement officers to record them.
The lawsuit remains pending.
ACLU Represents Memphis Residents
The four residents are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
They allege that members of the task force have retaliated against people who filmed their operations.
According to the lawsuit, residents claim they have been followed by law enforcement officers. They also allege that unmarked vehicles and people wearing tactical vests appeared outside their homes after they observed the task force.
The fatal shooting of 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson by two Tennessee National Guard members has brought renewed attention to the Trump administration’s federal crime-fighting deployment in Memphis. Authorities say Johnson turned toward guardsmen with a gun during a downtown pursuit after reports of gunfire, while his family is questioning the use of deadly force.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the incident, and Mayor Paul Young says he will wait for the findings before commenting further. The shooting comes amid ongoing debate over federal troop deployments, public safety, policing powers, taxpayer costs and civil rights concerns in Memphis and other U.S. cities.