U.S. News

National Guard Soldiers Killed a 20-Year-Old in Memphis in the Third Death Tied to Trump’s Task Force

By Mike Harper · July 7, 2026

The soldiers were not police. They were Tennessee National Guard members assigned to patrol the streets of Memphis under a federal task force created by President Trump. At 4 AM on the Fifth of July, they killed a 20-year-old man during a foot chase.

Tyrin Johnson was shot and killed by two National Guard soldiers after he allegedly turned toward them with a handgun during a pursuit in downtown Memphis early Sunday morning. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified Johnson and confirmed the soldiers fired on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Johnson is the third person killed in incidents involving the Memphis Safe Task Force since Trump deployed troops to the city last October. The task force — composed of National Guard soldiers, federal agents, and local police — was part of the president’s broader initiative to send military and federal law enforcement into Democrat-run cities he described as “overrun with crime.”

Memphis police said officers were responding to a shots-fired call near Ida B. Wells Avenue and Gayoso Avenue when they spotted Johnson carrying a handgun. He fled on foot. Officers and Guard soldiers pursued. According to police, Johnson “turned toward NG members with his weapon.” Two soldiers fired. Guard medical specialists provided first aid. Johnson died at the scene.

The deployment’s legality has been challenged from the beginning. Democratic state and local officials sued to block the Guard’s presence, arguing it violates the Tennessee Constitution’s limits on when the governor can deploy state military forces. A judge sided with local officials and issued a temporary injunction — but stayed the order to allow an appeal. The soldiers remained on the streets while the case moved through the courts.

The task force has produced over 10,000 arrests since October, according to the US Marshals Service. But Memphis police data show that overall crime and violent crime were already declining in 2025 before the deployment began — tracking downward trends seen in cities across the country. The deployments have cost taxpayers more than $1 billion this year across all cities where troops have been sent.

Johnson’s grandfather, Evaniel Johnson, told CNN his grandson had taken classes at Tennessee State University, was the father of a young child, and was preparing to help lead the family construction business.

“I believed in him, and I know he still had so much life ahead of him. The heartbreaking reality is that he will never have the chance to enjoy what we were building together.”

Mayor Paul Young called the shooting an “unfortunate incident” and said he was waiting for the TBI investigation to conclude before commenting further. The investigation is ongoing. No timeline for its completion has been provided.

The question the investigation won’t answer is the one the courts are still deciding: whether soldiers should be patrolling American city streets in the first place.