Tennessee National Guard members fatally shoot man in Memphis

newsJul 6, 2026343,510

Two Tennessee National Guard members assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force fatally shot 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson during a downtown foot pursuit early Sunday after authorities say he turned toward the soldiers with a gun. The shooting occurred around 4 a.m. as Guard members and local police were responding to reports of gunshots, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said, and no law enforcement officers were injured. Johnson died at the scene after two National Guard medical specialists attempted first aid, a Guard spokesperson said. Family members told reporters Johnson was shot twice in the chest; his grandfather Evaniel Johnson said Tyrin had attended Tennessee State University, was a father and planned to help run the family construction business. Mayor Paul Young called the incident "unfortunate" and said he was awaiting the TBI investigation results. The Guard deployment to Memphis began in October as part of a task force convened by President Donald Trump and authorized by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee; the U.S. Marshals Service reported the task force has produced more than 10,000 arrests and TBI data links at least four other officer-involved shootings to the task force.

The Tennessee Holler

@thetnholler.bsky.social

“This is not ok. We cannot normalize the National Guard killing American citizens. They shouldn’t be in Memphis at all. The family deserves answers.” Rep. @justinjpearson.bsky.social reacts to the news 2 National Guard troops shot and killed Tyrin Johnson in MEMPHIS.

227744d ago

Philip Lombard55

American troops killing an American on American soil. WTF are they even doing there?

Farrell36

The Constitution clearly states they are not to be used as law enforcement

Wes Walser34

Kent State all over again.

Jon Bailiff25

This is exactly what the law against their deployment as domestic law enforcement IS THERE TO ADDRESS!! #TRUMPCRIME

Kelly Kinkade (rome of oxtrot)24

Tennessee has a stand your ground law. As far as I can tell there is no evidence that the guy who was shot was doing anything illegal, which makes his killing an unlawful act.

Anti-Nazi Reticuli20

"They won't turn their guns on the people," Hhhmmmmmm...

Quoting this

realGuyFawkes.13

The administration wants to show you they can kill anyone they want at any time. Turn about is fair play.

JP Antifa11

"Troops will never open fire on US citizens" they said.

Miss Kitty 🌈🌈🌈8

#MissKittyRaw Cuz I live in #Seattle? Don't think so. How come the #$&% I haven't heard about #Tennessee being destroyed? Where is the volume? So #Minnesota was to scare white people & #Tennessee is to kill black people!? #Google would not answer a direct question about their ethnicity. #GOogleParty

unstuck in time3

We shouldn't be talking about anything besides this and what happened down the road in Clarksville.

🐈‍⬛ Emmaline, Segrentarri of Snakkies and👵🏼Jean, her human3

We have learned to be skeptical of the US Government's claims in cases such as this one.

JudyJaguarianJetta2

Another dead us citizen at the hands of trump

The Captain2

The national guard killed an American citizen who was carrying a firearm. The details are sketchy. Now these service members have to cope with the fact that while on an illegal mission they killed a US citizen they swore to protect.

Carlye Hooten2

JFC. The KKKristian Nationalist Fascist Right is going to keep going, keep killing, keep trying to suppress and oppress us. FUCK THE RIGHT. FUCK THE FASCISTS.

Jason Dogwood 💙 🏳️‍🌈 🌱

@jasondogwood.bsky.social

Whether the shooting was justified isn't the only thing haunting me. The other issue is why we've reached a place where soldiers are patrolling American streets at all. Freedom doesn't disappear all at once. It asks us to get used to one unacceptable thing after another. .

43545d ago

🐸SayItToMyFace❌👑11

You are 💯 right. Why were they even there?

Young Americans go left..to Democratic Socialism7

I will not stop posting this:Fake police,ICE INCELS,Cowards,Eunuchs,Fascist Terrorists.They are thugs:tactics of Gestapo,Stasi,KGB,Stalinś NKVD, Putinś FSB. inhuman barbarians. Inside the FascistHouse (WhiteHouse)calling the shots. find out who they are. THEY ARE GODLESS Murderers

WholeNotes 🇺🇸7

The slow erosion started with the patriot act in 2001

Fiat justitia, Ruat caelum6

We need a list of states that are deploying the National Guard to our cities. Then we need to contact their governors and demand they be removed. Protest outside their offices. Call them. Write them.

Jane5

I have 0 respect for our National Guard. They've allowed themselves to become his gestapo. The stink will follow them to the grave

Veteran Fighting For Democracy5

Military troops running our streets. Papers Please! It's right out of a Nazi movie. The Republicans aren't doing this so they can lower crime. NO! It's about training our troops that the real enemy is black/brown and LGBT+. The enemy to them now is the Democratic Party. It's training that's it!

Quoting this

LunaLuvgood202026

It’s all this, folks ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Like a Frog, boiling in the pot

Neil Turkewitz4

“Freedom doesn't disappear all at once. It asks us to get used to one unacceptable thing after another.”

Space Witches, Esq.

@popelizbet.bsky.social

I cannot explain to you how deeply terrifying and anger-inducing it is to have cops and national guard marching down your street after dark and despite constantly posting about occupied Memphis no one gives a shit. yes, I mean my actual street where I live. I live posted it.

32044d ago

Space Witches, Esq.32

they stole our votes and occupy our city and we get crickets.

NOW can we abolish ICE?2

Fuck, and somehow this is the first I am seeing people post about it??? I am so so so sorry you are dealing with this. It sucks and it's traumatizing and stressful beyond max and somehow people just are expected to go to work and all like it's fucking normal? It's so horrible!!

Swati Avasthi (SWA-thee)1

Wow. Thanks for posting this. I didn’t know about it and I’m f*cling sorry.

i_like_hot_tea1

are they still there now? I truly hadn't heard a peep until coming across this post. I don't know much about Memphis nor its immigrant population. If not following, I will follow to see what you share.

Free DC

@freedcproject.bsky.social

A National Guard soldier shot and killed a man in Memphis yesterday. This is not just an "unfortunate incident." The National Guard are a threat to our safety and the governors who have deployed need to call them home NOW. apnews.com/article/memp...

5245d ago

WatchYourRepsTN&SC

@watchyourrepssc.bsky.social

Thank you @justinjpearson.bsky.social for being the leader we need! I look forward to "watching" you when you are elected to Congress to help stop the insanity by removing the National Guard from Memphis!

3844d ago

Lee West

@whodat35.bsky.social

WE SHOULD NOT HAVE NATIONAL GUARD POLICING OUR STREETS IN MEMPHIS OR DC. FULL STOP. I will post this memo every single day up until midterms. We have extremists in our government turning the military on civilians ON OUR OWN soil. 1933 Germany redux. www.commondreams.org/news/leaked-...

4245d ago

shawn

@mulchy.bsky.social

there are almost 1,500 national guard members in memphis, in addition to hundreds of federal, state, and local cops. beyond terrifying. tennesseelookout.com/2026/07/06/n...

As of Sunday, there were 1,450 National Guard soldiers assigned to Memphis Safe Task Force, according to Brady McCarron, deputy chief of public affairs for the U.S. Marshals Service.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the lead agency in the task force, which was convened via a Sept. 15 executive order by President Donald Trump to “restore law and order” in Memphis, the nation’s largest majority-Black city.

Soon after Trump issued the executive order, Gov. Bill Lee deployed the Tennessee National Guard to join hundreds of other law enforcement officers in the multi-agency task force effort, which has brought officers to Memphis from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Services, ATF and a host of other federal law enforcement agencies. The National Guard soldiers first began arriving in Memphis on October 10.

5144d ago

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘

@kojamf.bsky.social

National Guard members on patrol in Memphis fatally shoot man during pursuit, police say

2645d ago

Nori St. James AF 🎵🦋 🐚🐈 🌊 🎼 📸 ⚖️ 🎶 🎙 🐬🌞2

And the madness continues unchecked.

dbstewart_tn2

It's like the 60's all over again. Only worse. Frankly... I miss Nixon. The party then, at least, had the righteous grace to convince him to step down.

chichi602

Here we are Kent State

MadBlue 💙🐸2

What was that…MAGA fights for no-gun laws?? For the benefit of whom?

Victoria aka Blaze

@burrddoh.bsky.social

20 year old, Tyrin Johnson, was shot and killed by National Guard troops in Memphis TN todsy www.npr.org/2026/07/05/n...

2545d ago

Jas 🪶🐻🦉🇺🇸🇨🇦5

Sure, "What happened next is unclear". When a suspect is "running away", so his back is to the cops and military, when does the, 'oh lets just fucking shoot him', come in to play?

Jas 🪶🐻🦉🇺🇸🇨🇦2

Well, besides just WTF! But also, WTF was the national guard out for i wonder?

T. Boone Doggle1

Why the fuck does NG have live ammo??

conifergirl.bsky.social

@conifergirl.bsky.social

The Death of Tyrin Johnson at the Hands of the National Guard… By Brent Molnar: A Voice of Reason A twenty-year-old man is dead in downtown Memphis, shot by the soldiers his own government sent to keep the city safe. Tyrin Johnson was killed just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 5,

2545d ago

The Desert Veteran

@jkz12769.bsky.social

Two Tennessee National Guard shot & killed a "armed" man in Memphis. The National Guard are there because of the Convicted FElon executive order. youtu.be/mfn35fXavzA?...

2544d ago

Anita Wadhwani

@anitawadhwani.bsky.social

National Guard troops on patrol in Memphis as part of a Trump-convened task force fatally shoot 20-year-old man, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating tennesseelookout.com/2026/07/06/n... @tennesseelookout.com

1044d ago

Pam Spaulding

@pamspaulding.bsky.social

❗The Trump / Miller regime is why NG are in TN. Nothing about this is normal & we can't let these situations be normalized. National Guard troops fatally shoot a man in downtown Memphis 🧾 NPR: www.npr.org/2026/07/05/n... 🌐 TN Bureau of Investigation to lead probe: tbinewsroom.com/2026/07/05/t...

Police say officers were responding to calls of shots fired in downtown Memphis just before 4 am local time when they saw "an armed male carrying a handgun." The man — identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson — fled on foot, pursued by Memphis police officers along with Tennessee National Guard soldiers who are assigned to the area.

What happened next was not immediately clear.

1545d ago

PeaceSeeker2

National Guard is not authorized or trained in domestic law enforcement. There are no boundaries with this administration. The scariest part is some things can't be undone, like allowing national guard to kill civilians on our streets.

unlearnable.bsky.social1

This is why you don't put military with M-16s on the streets to help with 'vibes.'

The Nicolandorian1

«Memphis police said» The lies begin here.

Ringo Bunnyman1

Black victim. Tennessee. Enough said. 😐

Stars and Stripes

@starsandstripes.bsky.social

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the circumstances surrounding two Tennessee National Guardsmen involved in shooting and killing a man early Sunday morning in Memphis.

1945d ago

Indivisible Chicago Alliance ❌👑

@indivisiblechicago.bsky.social

The Trump regime sent the National Guard into our cities. Now a Black man in Memphis is dead at their hands. #TyrinJohnson

1444d ago

1 source

apnews.comNational Guard members on patrol in Memphis fatally shoot man during pursuit, police say

China test-launches ballistic missile from submarine into South Pacificnews Deportations of unaccompanied minors tripled under Trump, ProPublica findsnews Pizza Express held inquiry into Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's Woking claimnews Tennessee National Guard members fatally shoot man in Memphisnews

Tennessee National Guard members fatally shoot man in Memphis

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