Man Accused of Memorial Drive Shooting Pleads Not Guilty to Eight Charges

A 46-year-old Boston man accused of opening fire on Memorial Drive on Monday afternoon, wounding two drivers and sending bystanders fleeing from traffic, pleaded not guilty Thursday to eight charges.

Tyler E. Brown, who prosecutors said fired at least 70 rounds near the intersection of Memorial Drive and River Street, was arraigned virtually from his hospital bed in Cambridge District Court.

Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf to charges including two counts of assault to murder with a firearm, two counts of attempted assault and battery with a firearm, possession of a large-capacity firearm, and discharging a firearm within 600 feet of a building.

Brown has been hospitalized since Monday after being shot in the “lower extremities” by a Massachusetts State Police officer and a civilian, according to a police report. He was taken into custody after receiving medical care at the scene.

Brown was represented at the arraignment by Carolyn I. McGowan and Josina Raisler-Cohn, public defenders appointed through the Committee for Public Counsel Services. CPCS declined to comment.

Prosecutors asked that Brown be held pending a dangerousness hearing under state law. Judge David Frank ordered him to remain in custody, either at the hospital or in jail, until that hearing, which is scheduled for May 21.

Prosecutors alleged that Brown left his Dorchester home carrying an assault rifle just hours before the shooting. He also contacted his parole officer three times before opening fire Monday afternoon, according to court documents.

The parole officer first received a call Monday morning from a person living with Brown, who said Brown was “off his rocker” and had “been getting high all night.”

The officer contacted BPD after speaking with Brown, who said he had begun using cocaine again and repeatedly spoke about ending his life. The parole officer recounted his calls with Brown and told police that he was known to carry knives and possessed an assault rifle.

Brown later spoke with his parole officer via a FaceTime call, showing the assault weapon and saying that he was “not going back to prison.” In a third call, Brown repeated suicidal statements and said he was “now repping his ‘shooter name,’” according to court documents.

Brown was released from prison last May after serving a five-year sentence for shooting at multiple Boston police officers in 2020. Court documents also revealed that Brown had been released from a psychiatric hospital three days before the shooting.

After receiving a second call from the parole officer, BPD obtained a warrant to ping Brown’s phone, locating him near Central Square. Boston police then alerted Cambridge police and dispatched officers to the area.

By 1:20 p.m., state and local police began responding to reports of gunshots on Memorial Drive. Brown walked down the road near the River Street intersection, firing dozens of rounds at cars and into the air as bystanders scrambled to flee the scene.

The shooting ended minutes after more than a dozen police officers rushed to the scene. An MSP officer and a civilian who was carrying a firearm in his vehicle exchanged gunfire with Brown, according to police. Brown was given medical care on site, arrested, and transported to a Boston hospital in critical condition.

The two victims, who were both struck while in their vehicles, remain hospitalized. The Boston Globe reported on Tuesday that one of the victims — 35-year-old Casimir Bangoura, who was shot multiple times — underwent surgery earlier this week and is expected to survive.

Police have not yet announced a motive for the Monday shooting. Brown is due back in court on May 21.

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

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.