National Guard troops fatally shoot a man in downtown Memphis.
Memphis police say National Guard troops fired their weapons in the early morning hours Sunday, killing a man who was armed with a handgun.
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.
Memphis police said the man had "turned toward NG members with his weapon" before the National Guard soldiers fired their weapons and struck him.
The National Guard has been patrolling in Memphis since October of last year as part of a federal task force , established by President Trump, to combat crime in Memphis.
But Memphis police say overall crime and violent crime were falling in 2025 even before the National Guard deployment began. »