Two Tennessee National Guard members on patrol in Memphis fatally shot a man Sunday who turned toward the soldiers with a gun during a pursuit, authorities said. The soldiers are part of a federal task force in Memphis established by President Donald Trump.
The Guard members were responding with local police to reports of gunshots around 4 a.m. when they began pursuing an armed man fleeing on foot, according to the city’s police department. The guardsmen opened fire after the man turned toward them with his weapon.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the man as Tyrin Johnson, 20, and stated it is investigating the circumstances of the shooting. No law enforcement officers were injured, the agency added.
Johnson died at the scene. Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Darrin Haas said in a statement that two National Guard medical specialists attempted first aid.
Johnson’s older cousin, Terracle Nelson, 46, said authorities informed 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 the TBI declined to comment on Nelson’s account of the shooting.
Evaniel Johnson, a relative of the deceased, described his grandson as a student at Tennessee State University, a father of a young child, and someone preparing to help lead the family construction business. He also noted Johnson's passion for music. Johnson stated he wished to review investigators' findings and any video of the shooting before offering judgment.
Mayor Paul Young called the shooting an “unfortunate incident” and said he was awaiting the results of the TBI investigation before commenting further, according to a statement provided by spokesperson Penelope Huston.
A search of online records in federal and state courts did not immediately show any cases related to Johnson. Local court records in Memphis and Nashville indicated he had a few minor traffic violations.
The federal troops have been patrolling the city since October as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a coalition of federal and local agencies convened by Trump. The task force has reportedly led to more than 10,000 arrests, according to the U.S. Marshals Service in June.
According to TBI data, there have been at least four officer-involved shootings tied to the task force. Two of those shootings occurred in May and did not involve National Guard members discharging their weapons. The TBI also linked the task force to an October shooting, but did not specify which law enforcement agencies were involved.
For years, Memphis, a city with a population exceeding 600,000, has grappled with high rates of violent crime, including assaults, carjackings, and homicides. Officials from both Democratic and Republican parties have noted decreases in some crime categories last year, which preceded the deployment and paralleled trends across U.S. cities.
In April, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that state and local Democratic officials lacked the standing to block the deployment of federal troops in Memphis.