TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Jul 6, 2026

Two Tennessee National Guard members fatally shot 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson early on July 5 in Memphis after police and guard soldiers pursued him following a shots-fired call. Officials say Johnson turned toward the guard members with a handgun before they fired. According to the Commercial Appeal, Johnson, who had no criminal record in Shelby County but had prior misdemeanor traffic charges and a failure-to-appear warrant in Middle Tennessee, was pronounced dead at the scene. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy has asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate the shooting. The guard has been in Memphis since October 2025 as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a deployment already facing a lawsuit from Democratic officials after a temporary injunction against it was overturned on appeal. This marks the fourth shooting and third fatal shooting involving a task force member, including the fatal shooting of Darrin Pigram and Jonah Neal in May.