Two Tennessee National Guard soldiers fatally shot an armed man following a foot chase in downtown Memphis early on Sunday, authorities said. The shooting happened shortly before 04:00 local time as Memphis police officers responded to reports of gunfire following Fourth of July celebrations.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) identified the man as 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson. According to the TBI, officers responding to the incident encountered an armed man carrying a handgun, who fled on foot. National Guard soldiers assigned to the area joined Memphis police in pursuing him.
“For reasons under investigation, the situation escalated, resulting in two National Guard soldiers firing upon Johnson, striking and killing him,” the TBI said in a statement.
Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured.
Earlier, the Memphis Police Department said Johnson had turned towards National Guard personnel while holding a handgun before the soldiers opened fire. That detail was not included in the TBI’s statement, and the bureau said the circumstances leading to the shooting remain under investigation.
At the request of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, the TBI has launched an independent investigation into the incident.
The agency said investigators are “working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews.”
The National Guard has been deployed in Memphis since October last year as part of a federal task force established by President Donald Trump to help combat violent crime in the city.
The deployment has been the subject of legal challenges. Democratic state and local officials argued that the operation violated provisions of the Tennessee Constitution governing the deployment of state military forces.
A Tennessee judge initially blocked the deployment with a temporary injunction, but that ruling was overturned by a state appeals court in April, allowing the National Guard mission to continue. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into Sunday’s fatal shooting.