The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has launched a formal inquiry after two members of the Tennessee National Guard shot and killed a civilian shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday.
According to the Memphis Police, as officers responded to a shots-fired call in the early hours of July 5 they observed an armed man carrying a handgun fleeing the scene. Tennessee National Guard soldiers on assignment as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force joined the foot pursuit.
Twenty-year-old Tyrin Johnson, a civilian, allegedly turned his weapon on the soldiers, prompting the guardsmen to open fire. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
No officers or soldiers were injured in the incident. It is now being investigated by the TBI, which noted that the office “acts solely as fact-finders in its cases and does not determine whether the actions of an officer were justified in these types of matters. That decision rests with the District Attorney General requesting TBI’s involvement.”
Tennessee National Guardsmen have been deployed to Memphis since October 2025. Republican Gov. Bill Lee approved the deployment despite the fact that Democratic Mayor Paul Young never requested the Guard come to Memphis.
Young later said he wanted the task force to focus on targeting violent offenders rather than use their presence to scare, harass or intimidate the general public, according to Associated Press reporting.
Lee previously said troops would not make arrests and would not be armed unless requested by local law enforcement officials.
While overall crime numbers dipped in 2025 compared with the previous year, in 2023 the city set a record with more than 390 homicides.
The investigation is ongoing.
Claire Barrett is an editor and military history correspondent for Military Times. She is also a World War II researcher with an unparalleled affinity for Sir Winston Churchill and Michigan football.
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