Tyler Brown, 46, appeared in Cambridge District Court by video from a hospital bed on Thursday, pleaded not guilty to charges including armed assault with intent to murder, and remained in custody pending a May 21 hearing, according to prosecutors and court officials.
Judge David Frank entered the not guilty pleas on Brown’s behalf to armed assault with intent to murder and six other charges, including possessing a gun without a license. Brown did not speak during the brief hearing and appeared to keep his eyes closed for much of the session, while he nodded when the judge confirmed the pleas.
Prosecutors said Brown is accused of opening fire on Monday afternoon on a heavily traveled road along the Charles River in Cambridge. They said panicked drivers abandoned vehicles or hid under them seeking cover after he fired at least 70 rounds from what prosecutors described as an assault-style weapon.
Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Nicole Allain said the man who was struck in the back of the head has since been released from the hospital. Allain said a second driver, who was shot four times in the leg, remained hospitalized.
An hour before the shootings, prosecutors said Brown connected with his parole officer by video conference. They said Brown told the officer that he had relapsed and wanted to end his life, prompting the parole officer to call police, who then searched for Brown and used phone records to locate him in Cambridge.
According to the complaint described in court coverage, investigators said Brown had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression and had been released Friday from a psychiatric hospital. Prosecutors also said Brown was on parole and probation for offenses including armed assault to murder and other gun-related convictions, with his parole set to end this week and probation continuing.
Meghan Kelly, a spokesperson for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, said Brown was not licensed to carry a firearm. Brown’s attorney, Carolyn McGowan, declined to speak at the hearing beyond responding to the judge’s scheduling questions, and the Committee for Public Counsel Services/Public Defender Division, where McGowan is listed as a senior trial counsel, did not respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said Brown’s criminal history dates to 1994, when he was convicted of armed robbery in Michigan. They also said he was convicted of escape in Michigan in 1997 and drug offenses in New Hampshire in 2007, and that in Massachusetts he has been convicted of multiple assault and gun-related charges, most recently in 2021 when he was convicted of firing at officers.
In that 2021 case, prosecutors had argued Brown should serve at least 10 years in prison because of the “level of brazen violence” and because he was on probation for a 2014 conviction on assault and witness intimidation charges. A judge instead ordered five to six years in state prison and three years of probation with credit for nearly 18 months already spent in custody, according to Thursday’s coverage.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders told the court in 2021 that she considered factors including psychiatric issues and childhood trauma when imposing the sentence, and Sanders said she was especially moved by letters from Brown’s family and community describing what they viewed as his commitment to turn his life around.