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CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A woman who was in her car on Memorial Drive when a gunman opened fire in the area Monday credits a United States Marine Corps veteran she had never met with helping her get to safety during the chaotic attack, saying that he “saved lives.”
Rachael Saveriano was driving when a shooter fired more than 50 rounds at random at cars, pedestrians, and buildings in the area. She said her car was blocked by other vehicles on the roadway so she couldn’t drive away from the danger.
“Once I saw the people really trying to flee, and I saw the people getting out of their cars and fleeing, and running by the sidewalk, I realized something big was really happening. I didn’t know what to do,” Saveriano said.
She said she saw the gunman, identified by police as Tyler Brown, 46, of Boston, and was prepared to hide in her car until further notice. She said that’s when a man she didn’t know opened her car door.
“He said ‘run,’ and he kept the door open like as a barricade. He stayed,” Saveriano said. “I didn’t know anything at the time, like he’s a former Marine. I didn’t even think about why he had a gun, but I could just tell he was a good guy.”
A Massachusetts State Police trooper’s report Tuesday revealed the man is a United States Marine Corps veteran and a former shooting instructor. He returned fire at Brown in tandem with police as Saveriano ran into a nearby hotel.
“There were people there that were walking out that didn’t know what was happening, so I said ‘there’s a shooter,’ and then we all ran into the building together,” Saveriano said.
Now she is crediting that man with saving her life and the lives of others in the area.
“I don’t know who he is,” she said. “He doesn’t owe me that to know who he is, but I do hope that if he’s watching any of this coverage he knows that he truly is an absolute incredible hero and I believe that he saved lives.”
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