Two Critically Injured After Gunman Fires ‘Erratically’ Into Traffic in Cambridge, Mass.

DA: 2 in critical condition after daytime shooting in Cambridge, up to 60 rounds fired by suspect

Two people were struck by gunfire during a daytime shooting on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney, and are now in critical condition.

Authorities say 46-year-old Tyler Brown has been arrested and charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, weapons possession charges, and several additional offenses.

Boston25 Investigates learned that Brown’s criminal record spans nearly two decades and includes prior firearm and drug convictions.

Court records obtained by Boston 25 News show that in 2020, Brown fired 13 rounds at Boston police officers in the South End. During that exchange, Brown fired nearly three times as many shots as the two responding Boston police officers.

“I would venture to guess that there is no one in this room who hasn’t had an occasion to travel down along that stretch of Memorial Drive, particularly on a beautiful day like today,” said Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan during Monday evening’s press conference.

At approximately 1:06 p.m., Cambridge police received a 911 call from Boston police reporting that an individual was acting erratically and was believed to be in Cambridge carrying a rifle.

Massachusetts State Police and Cambridge police responded to the Memorial Drive area. According to Ryan, by the time officers arrived, an active shooter situation was already underway.

“That individual was already traveling down the middle of Memorial Drive, cars were stopped in traffic, he was in possession of that assault style rifle that had been described, and he was actively firing in an erratic fashion at various vehicles along the road,” said Ryan.

During the shooting, two people in separate vehicles were struck, including an MBTA bus driver. A family member told Boston25 the victim was shot in the head, and he drove himself to the hospital. A mail truck was also hit by gunfire, though the driver was not injured.

Both shooting victims remain hospitalized in critical condition.

Authorities said a state police trooper arriving at the scene, along with a civilian described as a former Marine licensed to carry a firearm, moved toward the suspect while shots were being fired. Officials said the suspect was struck multiple times in the lower extremities and treated at the scene.

According to Ryan, people abandoned their vehicles and ran in multiple directions as the shooting unfolded. Some individuals reportedly took cover underneath their cars. A bullet also struck the front of the cruiser driven by the officer involved in stopping the suspect.

Brown was transported to a hospital, where he continues to receive treatment for his injuries.

“That does not begin to address the trauma experienced by everybody who was out there, those individuals on the river, walking pushing baby carriages, riding by,” said Ryan.

“We know that that weapon had the capacity to have struck people on the other side of that river.”

“This, in the city of Cambridge, a relatively safe and certainly vibrant community where people work and travel through, what happened today cannot stand,” said Ryan.

Ryan also referenced legislation that has been filed during the past four legislative sessions addressing the dangers created when firearms are discharged in populated areas.

“To create an offense to punish a shooter who acts, as I would suggest to you was the case today, without regard to serious bodily injury to another but who shoots intentionally or recklessly and hear by creates a sustainably risk of serious bodily injury,” she said.

Investigators estimate that between 50 and 60 rounds were fired during the incident, damaging multiple vehicles. Ryan asked anyone with video footage of the shooting to provide it to Massachusetts State Police.

Colonel Geoffrey Noble praised the actions of the individuals who helped stop the shooter.

“Today we saw, in a moment of crisis, we saw highly trained, highly prepared, troopers, police officers responding to a very dangerous incident,” said Noble.

“Their performance today exemplified the way that they are trained for this moment,” he said.

“Today’s events are something that we never hope to see in this piece of our community,” said Cambridge Police Commissioner Pauline Wells.

Wells also praised the officers who responded to the scene.

“Without their quick and selfless acts today’s situation would have been a lot worse.”

Three witnesses told WBZ-TV that they were driving on Memorial Drive when a man began shooting. One driver said he stopped his car, crouched in the vehicle and the gunman hit his radiator. The man’s coworker was driving in front of him, and said the gunman also hit the headlight of that car.

“Got out, walked up to the car in front of me to my coworker to see what was going on. Saw the dude in the street lifting [the gun] up at me,” the man who witnessed the shootout said. “I dipped back into my car and ducked behind my dashboard. My buddy got out, he ran for it. State trooper pulled up directly on the side of me, got out, got behind his car right in front of my driver’s side mirror, got in the gunfight with him.”

A woman in a small school van was driving on her way to pick up children with special needs when the gunshots began. She said she crouched alongside another woman who was in the van. The two women said they jumped out of the van and fled through the nearby bushes.

“I ran through the bushes and fell in here, and ran all the way down the street. And then they took me in this building over here because I was all shook and everything. Because I was running for my life,” one of the women said, adding she heard at least 15 or more shots.

All of the witnesses described a Massachusetts State Police trooper arriving and - within seconds - engaging the gunman, before shooting the suspect multiple times.

State police said EMS responded to the scene and at least one person was treated for gunshot injuries. They did not specify if it was the gunman.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.