Tennessee investigates two fatal Memphis Safe Task Force shootings

Tennessee authorities are investigating a second fatal shooting tied to the Memphis Safe Task Force after a drug warrant service at an Extended Stay hotel on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis left one man dead. The shooting came four days after two Tennessee National Guard soldiers assigned to the same task force shot and killed 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson during a foot chase in downtown Memphis around 4 a.m.

The July 8 shooting happened at about 8:30 a.m. in Shelby County while U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents were serving a drug warrant. Officials said the man was in a hotel room, refused to open the door and was shot after task force members entered. The U.S. Marshals Service said he had pointed a handgun at them.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is reviewing both fatal incidents at the request of 30th Judicial District Attorney General Steve Mulroy. In the first case, TBI said two National Guard troops shot Johnson during the downtown chase. In the second, the agencies on scene included DEA agents and task force members operating under the Memphis Safe Task Force umbrella, which has drawn fresh scrutiny over how force was used and which agencies had direct command responsibility at the moment the shots were fired.

Lawmakers and family members have demanded more answers and transparency after the July 5 killing, including the release of video from the first shooting. That demand has become part of a broader accountability fight around a task force built to work across federal, state and local lines, where responsibility can be split among multiple agencies and the public has to sort out which officials controlled the operation, which standards applied and what footage may exist.

The Memphis Safe Task Force was created by presidential memorandum in September 2025 to coordinate federal, state and local law enforcement against violent crime in Memphis. White House materials said the task force is chaired by an individual selected and appointed by the attorney general, who directs all task force functions. Early descriptions of the operation said 13 federal agencies were involved, and Gov. Bill Lee later announced $100 million in grant funds for the Memphis area. The two killings were the second and third deaths tied to the task force since it began.