Two Injured in Christmas Day Shooting Near Harvard Square

Two people were injured in a shooting near Harvard Square early Thursday morning, according to a Cambridge Police Department alert.

Both individuals were transported to local hospitals. One sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while the other is in serious condition, CPD spokesperson Robert P. Reardon wrote in a Thursday statement.

Police responded shortly after 3:20 a.m. to a report of a fight at a residence on Howard Street, where officers found two individuals with gunshot wounds. The two appeared to have been involved in an altercation during a gathering inside the residence on Christmas Day, according to the alert.

CPD described the shooting as an “isolated incident” and said that there is “no broader threat to public safety.”

The incident marks the fourth recorded shooting in Cambridge this year that has resulted in injury and the eighth report of shots fired. Still, the city has seen less gun violence in 2025 than 2024, with 13 reports of shots fired, four of which resulted in injury.

In January, 21-year-old Angel Nieves was fatally shot in North Cambridge. That incident remains under active investigation and was the city’s first homicide in more than a year.

Though there have been multiple reports of gunfire near Harvard Square this year, Thursday’s shooting is the first in the area to result in injuries. The incident remains under investigation, Reardon wrote in the statement.

In April, shots were fired inside the Harvard Square MBTA Station, though no injuries were reported. In October, Harvard issued a lockdown order after reports of shots fired near the Radcliffe Quadrangle. No injuries occurred, and CPD later said the incident stemmed from an altercation between a driver and a cyclist.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected].