MEMPHIS, Tenn. – As Memphis Police responded to a number of shootings and other violent incidents over the weekend, the city was hit with the label “homicide capital of America” by FBI Director Kash Patel.
In a sit-down interview with FOX News on Sunday, Patel said Memphis leads the nation in homicides per capita and vowed to deploy a federal task force to Tennessee.
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He said he’d transfer 1,500 agents from Washington D.C. across the country, with Memphis being a priority.
“I didn’t know this until my confirmation process, but Memphis, Tennessee, is the homicide capital of America, per capita,” Kash said in the interview. “Didn’t know that. We have a problem there. We’re now addressing it. We’re rolling out one of our task forces to the state of Tennessee.”
He added: “Our priorities, simple. Crush violent crime. Defend the homeland.”
It appears the FBI does not have a task force with a singular focus on homicides, but America’s top law enforcement agency does have violent gang task forces. Right now, it’s not clear if Director Patel is dispatching one of those units to Memphis or something new.
FOX13 reached out to the FBI field office in Nashville and was directed to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to ask what the task force Patel is sending to Memphis will look like. Neither office answered the request for information. As of Friday, Memphis Police data revealed there had been 113 homicides in the city so far this year; that’s down from 136 during the same period last year.
Monday, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said that would welcome any help in combating violent crime in Memphis.
“MPD has always collaborated with federal agencies on addressing violent crime, and we’re encouraged by any effort that brings more resources to Memphis. We look forward to learning more from our federal law enforcement partners. Locally, we’re already seeing results. Through our recent Fugitive Task Force and other strategic operations, we’ve taken fugitives off the streets and disrupted gang activity across the city. With stronger collaboration and steady local leadership, we’ll keep pushing forward to make every Memphis neighborhood safer,” Mayor Young said in a statement sent to FOX13 by a city spokesperson.
Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) backed the move, calling it a chance to “Make Memphis Matter” in a post to his X page and sharing a screenshot from the interview.
This came after Memphis had another violent weekend. In all, at least 12 people were shot, according to the Memphis Police Department. Three people were killed, including a 16-year-old girl.
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In April, the Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission said the rate of major crime — such as murders, rapes, and robberies — had fallen by nearly 9% in 2025 compared to the same time frame last year.
We still have not heard back from the FBI about the task force. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Memphis issued a two-word response to the FOX13 request for information: “No comment.” Tennessee Governor Bill Lee was in town Monday, but he would not answer questions about it.
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