A man previously convicted of firing a gun at police shot at motorists on a busy road near Boston on Monday afternoon, seriously wounding two drivers, authorities said. The attack unfolded along the Charles River in Cambridge, a roadway officials said saw panicked drivers abandon vehicles for cover as gunfire hit cars passing along the corridor.
Prosecutors said Tyler Brown, 46, fired at least dozens of rounds, with bullets tearing through multiple vehicles, including a state police cruiser. “While people were jumping from their cars, scattering in various directions … both that trooper and that civilian, rather than going in one direction, went toward the suspect with their weapons to try to end that situation,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said later Monday night.
Authorities said Brown fired more than 60 rounds as he walked beside the road before a state trooper returned fire. The trooper shot the suspect, according to officials, and the suspect fell wounded after the exchange of gunfire.
Investigators said the shooting occurred on a heavily traveled roadway by the Charles River, where sidewalks and riverside paths are often crowded with pedestrians, joggers and cyclists. Officials said the attack began shortly after Monday’s afternoon rush as drivers turned around and scattered, some abandoning cars to flee gunfire.
Witness accounts described a chaotic scene. Armando Zona, whose apartment overlooks the area, said he initially mistook the banging sounds for construction equipment before he realized there was gunfire at cars. “He took a glance towards here, I’m quite sure about that, and I ran,” Zona said, later adding that he saw a window splattered and could not comprehend how a bullet had entered his home.
Rachael Saveriano said she was trapped in her car as Brown approached, waving a gun. She told The Boston Globe that a man described as a Marine veteran helped her escape, saying the veteran opened her car door, pulled her out, and told her to run. Saveriano said she saw the man shooting at Brown as she fled and later described him as “an incredible hero,” saying he was “so calm” and “didn’t hesitate.”
Court records and a criminal complaint, according to officials, describe Brown as having mental health diagnoses including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and say he had been released Friday from a psychiatric hospital. Authorities said Brown was on parole and probation for previous gun-related offenses, and that his parole was set to end this week while his probation continued.
Prosecutors also described Brown’s path to the Monday shooting. About an hour before the assault, Brown connected with his parole officer via video conference and, according to officials, told the officer he had relapsed and wanted to end his life. Prosecutors said the parole officer called police, who began searching for Brown and found him in Cambridge using phone records.
Investigators said Brown faces two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and six other charges, including possessing a gun without a license. The Marine veteran involved in the incident told investigators that he was driving southbound when he saw cars turning around and heard gunfire, retrieved his pistol from a safe in the backseat, and fired eight rounds after the gunman got closer, according to a criminal complaint.
Brown’s history includes a 2020 case in which he was arrested after firing rounds at Boston police officers, Suffolk County prosecutors said at the time. Prosecutors said a judge ordered Brown to serve five to six years in state prison and three years of probation with credit for nearly 18 months spent in custody. Officials said Monday’s developments revived criticism among local figures, including the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, which posted on social media that the earlier judicial decision was “the definition of insanity” and “an undeniable insult.”
Ryan said investigators found no connection between Brown and those targeted in Monday’s attack. “What happened today cannot stand,” she said, as she renewed a call for harsher penalties for people who fire weapons disregarding the risk of serious injury. The Cambridge District Court said Tuesday that Brown was not medically ready to go to court for an arraignment, and the Committee for Public Counsel Services said it has been appointed to defend him but declined to comment; officials said messages were left for a phone number listed for Brown and a potential family member.