A member of a federal crime-fighting task force in Memphis shot and killed a person there on Wednesday, the second fatal shooting by a task force member in four days and the fourth death involving the unit since it started in September.
The task force shot and killed an armed fugitive at an East Memphis hotel.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents were serving a drug warrant at a hotel room when the shooting occurred, U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Brady McCarron said. He said agents knocked the door down after the suspect refused to open it.
A news release from the Marshals Service said the man was killed after pointing a handgun at task force members. A later Tennessee Bureau of Investigation news release said, "For reasons still under investigation, the situation escalated, resulting in a DEA agent firing into a room, striking a man and killing him."
The Memphis Safe Task Force was created by President Donald Trump as part of an effort to place National Guard troops and federal agents in Democratic-run cities he described as crime-ridden, and Tennessee National Guard troops have been serving in Memphis as part of the task force since last fall.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has embraced federal intervention, while Memphis Mayor Paul Young said they were coming regardless of his opinion and he wanted to find ways to use them effectively.
Wednesday's shooting followed another early Sunday shooting by two members of the Tennessee National Guard assigned to the task force, in which authorities said 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson was killed after he turned toward them with a gun during a downtown pursuit; his family is calling for the release of video evidence.
Data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation shows that at least four people have died in encounters with officers tied to the federal task force. In mid-May, the TBI said an agent shot and killed 41-year-old Darrin Pigram after he allegedly reached for a gun in his waistband. Later that month, a Homeland Security special agent fired when task force members responded to a report of a man armed and threatening to harm himself; Jonah Neal, 25, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the TBI said it was not immediately clear whether Neal died as a result of the agent firing or from self-inflicted stab wounds. In December, a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper assigned to the task force opened fire at a vehicle during a traffic stop and struck one person, who was taken to the hospital in stable condition. The TBI is investigating all five shootings.