Two Tennessee National Guard members assigned to President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting patrol in Memphis did exactly what they were sent there to do on Sunday, they neutralized an immediate deadly threat when an armed suspect turned toward them with a gun during a foot chase in downtown Memphis.
The man, identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson, was shot and killed after he fled from Memphis police officers who had observed him carrying a handgun.
During the pursuit, Johnson turned toward the National Guard soldiers with his weapon.
The Guardsmen opened fire in clear self-defense. Guard medical specialists on scene provided immediate first aid, but Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
WBALTV reported:
Johnson’s older cousin, Terracle Nelson, 46, told The Associated Press that he was “as good a boy as can be.” Johnson was living in Nashville, working in construction and taking university classes, she said. He had just had his first child earlier this year, she added.
Nelson said she was present with other members of Johnson’s family when authorities told them that Johnson had been shot twice in the chest.
“I just want to know how they shot a 20-year-old twice in the chest — he hadn’t harmed anyone,” Nelson said.
[…]
Mayor Paul Young called the shooting an “unfortunate incident” and said he was waiting to see the results of the TBI investigation before commenting further, according to a statement provided by spokesperson Penelope Huston.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is conducting the standard review.
President Trump created the Memphis Safe Task Force last September after repeatedly warning that Democrat-run cities were being overrun by violent crime. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee supported the deployment of the National Guard to back up federal agents and local police.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported when Trump signed the Presidential Memorandum establishing the Memphis Safe Task Force and when the first boots hit the ground:
- In the first 48 hours alone, the task force made 53 arrests and seized 20 guns.
- The operation has since racked up more than 10,000 arrests and removed over 1,700 firearms from the streets.
Beginning in June 2025, President Trump deployed National Guard troops and federal law enforcement to U.S. cities in a series of escalating operations. Troops arrived in Washington, D.C., in August 2025, Memphis in October 2025, and New Orleans on December 30, 2025. Deployments to Chicago and Portland became entangled in legal challenges and were suspended by January 2026. As of March 2026, active deployments continue in Washington, D.C., Memphis, and New Orleans.
The deployments have produced verifiable arrests and weapons seizures, and crime has fallen in every targeted city.
