Gunman fires nearly 60 rounds into traffic on Memorial Drive
Two drivers critically injured by shots from the gunman’s semiautomatic rifle
Photo courtesy of Kai De Leon DeJesus
Photo courtesy of Kai De Leon DeJesus
Photo courtesy of Kai De Leon DeJesus
At 1:30 p.m. on Monday, May 11, less than a mile away from campus on Memorial Drive, a gunman sprayed nearly 60 rounds into traffic with a semiautomatic rifle, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a press conference.
The shooting occurred at the intersection of River Street and Memorial Drive. Two drivers were shot and were rushed to Boston hospitals with life-threatening injuries. The gunman Tyler Brown is in custody.
The gunman was previously involved in a 2020 shooting with police officers in South End and was released from prison.
Both Cambridge and Massachusetts State Police responded to the scene, and Ryan said that it was the combined effort of a civilian and a State trooper that took down the gunman.
“[The] trooper and civilian rather than going [away] went towards the suspect with their weapons to end the situation,” Ryan said. “Both the civilian and the trooper fired their weapons, and the suspect was struck multiple times.”
“What happened today cannot stand,” he added.
In a statement, the Cambridge Police Department wrote that prior to the shooting at around 1:00 p.m., they received a call from Boston Police warning them about an erratic individual in the Cambridge area.
“Boston Police also relayed that the suspect was believed to be in possession of a rifle,” the Department wrote. “[The suspect] was later identified as the person involved in today’s shooting.”
The gunman will be charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder.
In the 2020 case, Brown was sentenced by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders to five to six years in prison and three years of probation despite prosecutors recommending 10 to 12 years of prison and five years of probation.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that there “is no ongoing threat to the public” and that she is “grateful to first responders who worked quickly to keep people safe and secure the scene.”
While the shooting took place between the MIT and Harvard campuses, neither school was directly affected. MIT Police did not respond to the scene, and no campus alert was sent.