May 11 (UPI) — A gunman armed with an assault-style rifle fired dozens of rounds at vehicles as he walked Cambridge’s iconic Memorial Drive, seriously wounding two people before being shot by state police and an armed bystander, authorities said.
The suspect, identified as 46-year-old Tyler Brown of Boston, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his extremities and was taken for treatment to a Boston hospital, where he remains under police custody in the intensive care unit.
The shooting began around 1 p.m. EDET, authorities said.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters during a Monday evening press conference the suspect was firing erratically at vehicles as he walked east down the center of the famous drive that banks Charles River near Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Two males in separate cars driving the street, one a ride-share driver, were shot, suffering life-threatening injuries, she said, adding: “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.”
“We know that that weapon had the capacity to have struck people on the other side of that river,” she said.
The suspect fired upwards of 60 rounds, striking “at least a dozen” vehicles, Ryan said, adding that people were jumping from their cars and scattering in all directions, unsure of where to find safety. Some hid under their vehicles, she said.
A Massachusetts State Police trooper responding to the shooting and a civilian, a former Marine in legal possession of a firearm, confronted the suspect, who is accused of continuing to fire, striking the cruiser the trooper had exited.
The shooting ended when the trooper and civilian opened fire on the suspect.
“Clearly people’s lives were at risk,” Ryan said.
Ryan said they expect to charge Brown with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, firearms offenses and potentially other offenses to be determined by the ongoing investigation.
Brown was moving to Cambridge and was under the supervision of either the Massachusetts Probation Department or the Department of Parole, Ryan said, adding that his criminal record, if there is one, will be addressed at his arraignment.
Boston Police had initially notified Cambridge Police at 1:06 p.m. of a person observed acting erratically while of a rifle, according to Ryan, who told reporters that they are still investigating how he came to be on the drive.
Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui said she is “deeply grateful” to the first responders who acted, stating their “swift action protected our community during a dangerous and rapidly evolving situation.”
“My thoughts are with the individuals who were injured, those affected by today’s violence and victims of gun violence everywhere,” she said in a statement.
“I recognize how frightening this incident was for community members, and your safety is my first concern.”