The grandfather of a man fatally shot by the Tennessee National Guard in Memphis over the weekend is demanding answers and the release of video footage, casting doubt on the official account of the incident.
Grandfather Questions Official Narrative
Evaniel Johnson stated he is waiting to see if video supports the police narrative that his 20-year-old grandson, Tyrin Johnson, turned toward National Guard members with a gun while fleeing early Sunday. Memphis police said the Guard members were responding to a report of gunfire. The National Guard troops were assigned to a crime-fighting patrol created last year by President Donald Trump, who sent federal agents to Democratic-run cities he characterized as crime-ridden.
“Show me the video,” Evaniel Johnson told The Associated Press. “Please show me that — and then I’m OK. Until you show me that, I’m gonna fight and advocate for my grandson until there’s no breath in me.”
Johnson, a former correctional officer with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Nashville, disputes that his grandson would have tried to fire a gun at Guard members and questions whether deadly force was necessary if he was running away. He described his grandson as “no hoodlum.”
Details of the Shooting
According to his grandfather, Tyrin Johnson carried a gun for protection after being “jumped” recently in Nashville and was wary of being attacked again due to a social media feud. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is reviewing the shooting and confirmed that two Guard members fired their weapons. Johnson’s family was told by the TBI that he was shot twice in the chest. The Memphis Police Department declined to comment on what footage exists and when it will be released. The National Guard did not respond to requests for comment on whether the two members have been placed on leave.
Democratic Leaders Call for Transparency
Tennessee Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari and Chairwoman London Lamar, both of Memphis, issued a joint statement expressing sympathy and emphasizing the need for transparency. They urged the TBI to release any available video as soon as possible without jeopardizing the investigation. “Transparency serves everyone — the Johnson family, the members of the National Guard involved, and a community that deserves confidence in the outcome, whatever the facts ultimately show,” they wrote.
State Rep. Justin Pearson, a Democrat running for the U.S. House, echoed the call for a transparent investigation and demanded the disbanding of the federal task force. “Memphis does not need armed soldiers in our streets terrifying our people,” he said in a statement.
Context of Federal Task Force
Trump’s decision to send Tennessee National Guard troops to Memphis to combat crime received mixed responses and was the subject of a lawsuit, though it did not spark widespread protests. TBI data shows that at least three people have died in four shootings by officers tied to the federal task force. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee supported federal intervention, while Democratic Memphis Mayor Paul Young took a pragmatic approach, noting he never asked for National Guard troops but recognized they were coming regardless.
Victim’s Background and Family Grief
Tyrin Johnson had no criminal history beyond a few traffic violations, according to a review of federal and state court records. In May, he was arrested for failing to appear at a 2025 hearing for driving without a license in Wilson County and bonded out. He attended Tennessee State University from August 2023 to May 2024, according to university spokesperson Angel Higgins.
Evaniel Johnson said he had hoped his grandson would return to university and was training him to take on a larger role in the family’s real estate development business, including a project in Nashville. On the Fourth of July, the family gathered on his back porch to play cards, and he wished his grandson had stayed. Instead, Tyrin went to Memphis. “He was down there like all the rest of the people trying to enjoy the Fourth of July,” Johnson said. “His future was buying homes, living life, taking care of his little baby. He had a future. It’s gone now.”
