Suspect with prior convictions allegedly opened fire on Cambridge road, injuring two

A burst of gunfire on Memorial Drive turned a busy Cambridge corridor into a crime scene, leaving two men with life-threatening injuries and raising urgent questions about how a man with prior convictions was able to allegedly carry out such an attack.

Authorities identified the suspect as Tyler Brown, 46, of Boston. Police said they got a call shortly after 1 p.m. that a person believed to be in Cambridge was acting erratically and possibly armed with a rifle. Minutes later, Brown was allegedly walking in the roadway on Memorial Drive near River Street and Pleasant Street Extension, firing an assault-style rifle at vehicles in broad daylight.

Investigators said Brown fired upwards of 60 rounds in a short period of time. Two men in separate cars were struck and hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Police said the victims did not know Brown. Officials said the stretch of road sits beside riverfront paths used by pedestrians, cyclists and rowers, underscoring how exposed the area was when the shooting began.

The confrontation ended only after a Massachusetts State Police trooper and a civilian legally carrying a firearm engaged Brown. Both fired at him, and Brown was struck multiple times in the extremities before being taken to a Boston hospital in custody. Police said the State Police cruiser was also hit by gunfire during the exchange. Brown was expected to face two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, along with firearms offenses.

The case quickly focused attention on Brown’s record. Authorities and local reports say he had a 2008 cocaine distribution conviction, a 2014 conviction for assault and battery with a knife and witness intimidation, and a 2021 prison sentence of five to six years after he pleaded guilty in a 2020 case involving gunfire at Boston police officers in the South End. At the time of the Cambridge shooting, Brown was on probation for that earlier case.

Prosecutors had sought 10 to 12 years in the 2020 case, and former Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins publicly criticized the shorter sentence. After the Cambridge attack, the earlier rulings drew fresh scrutiny as officials and public figures weighed whether the system had done enough to prevent another shooting.

Cambridge police shut down the area and asked the public for video or eyewitness accounts as they continued to piece together the attack. The case now sits at the intersection of policing, firearm access and the vulnerability of a major commuter route that, for a few terrifying minutes, became the scene of an apparent attempted mass shooting.