Massachusetts Highway Shooting: ‘Repeat Offender’ Opens Fire, Critically Injuring Two as Passersby Run for Their Lives

A gunman appeared on a busy road in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 11 and began firing into traffic. The incident took place around 1 p.m., when the suspect, 46-year-old Tyler Brown, opened fire on passing cars on Memorial Drive.

As Brown fired indiscriminately from an assault rifle, a number of vehicles were struck. Several people saved their lives by ducking behind their dashboards or fleeing their vehicles. Two individuals were critically injured in the attack and were later rushed to hospitals in Boston.

Cambridge Police and Massachusetts State Police eventually arrived at the scene. The shooting came to an end after a state trooper and a civilian fired back at the gunman. As a shootout ensued, Brown was wounded and taken into custody. He is currently undergoing treatment for his wounds in a hospital.

The shooting was captured on camera as Brown was seen walking across the road with an assault rifle and firing at random vehicles. The video is now going viral on social media. Meanwhile, authorities have said there is no imminent threat to public safety as the suspect is in custody.

Witnesses who were driving on the road at the time have shared their ordeal with media outlets. “I ran through the bushes and fell in here, and ran all the way down the street. And then they took me in this building over here because I was all shook and everything. Because I was running for my life,” one witness said in a statement to WBZ-TV.

Another witness described how the suspect was apprehended and said, “State trooper pulled up directly on the side of me, got out, got behind his car right in front of my driver's side mirror, got in the gunfight with him.”

“This incident lasted minutes thanks to the actions of the trooper and that civilian,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “We know that the weapon had the capacity to have struck people on the other side of that river. I would venture to guess that there is no one in this room who hasn’t had occasion to travel along that stretch of Memorial Drive,” she added.

According to Ryan, Brown, a Boston native, will face two counts of armed assault with the intent to murder. He has been convicted of some serious charges previously as well. In 2014, Brown was found guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

In 2020, while Brown was still serving probation, he was accused of attempting to kill Boston Police officers. In 2021, Brown was sentenced to 5-6 years in state prison, followed by probation after pleading guilty to armed assault with intent to murder and attempted assault and battery by means of discharging a firearm.

At the time, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said that Brown deserved a stricter punishment and should have been sentenced to 10-12 years. The motive behind the Memorial Drive shooting remains unclear. According to authorities, there is no indication it was a targeted attack, as the gunman does not appear to have known any of the victims.