Two Victims, Suspect Critically Injured in Memorial Drive Shooting, DA Says

Two people sustained life-threatening injuries Monday afternoon after a man opened fire on Memorial Drive near River Street, firing more than 50 rounds at passing vehicles before exchanging gunfire with a Massachusetts State Police officer and an armed civilian, authorities said Monday evening.

The suspect, identified by officials as 46-year-old Tyler Brown, was critically injured during the exchange and transported to a hospital, Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan said at a press conference.

Brown is expected to be charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possible additional charges, Ryan said. His arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

The two victims, who were both struck while inside their vehicles, were transported to hospitals with life-threatening injuries. One of the victims was driving an MBTA van, according to Ryan.

Cambridge Police were first alerted to the incident shortly after 1 p.m., when Boston police placed a 911 call reporting that they had seen Brown acting erratically and believed he was armed. Cambridge police had already begun pursuing Brown before the shooting began, Acting Commissioner Pauline E. Wells said at a Monday night City Council meeting.

But by the time officers arrived near the intersection of Memorial Drive and River Street shortly after 1:20 p.m., Ryan said Brown had begun “firing in an erratic fashion” at nearby vehicles.

Video footage of the incident showed Brown carrying a firearm down the middle of the road as cars sat stopped in traffic. As shots rang out, Ryan said officers found drivers fleeing their vehicle and “scattering in various directions.”

Ryan said the firearm Brown used “had the capacity to have struck people on the other side” of the Charles River, though no injuries were reported across the river.

In addition to a State Police officer, a civilian licensed to carry a firearm exchanged gunfire with Brown, according to Ryan. The civilian was not injured.

The shooting unfolded between Harvard and MIT’s campuses, though neither university reported being directly affected. The Cambridge Amigos School, located roughly half a mile from the scene, was briefly placed under a secure-in-place order.

Ryan said investigators have not identified a motive and do not know of any connection between Brown and the two victims.

Brown was on probation at the time of Monday’s shooting after pleading guilty in connection with a 2020 incident in which he fired 13 rounds at two Boston police officers. Neither officer was struck, and Brown was arrested shortly after the shooting.

He pleaded guilty to eight charges, including armed assault and unlawful possession of a firearm, and was sentenced in 2021 to five to six years in prison followed by three years of probation, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.

Ryan said Monday that Brown had been released on probation and was in the process of moving to Cambridge.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.