CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A gunman with an assault-style rifle opened fire on dozens of cars traveling on a busy street in Cambridge Monday afternoon, sending two men to the hospital with serious injuries, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
Cambridge police responded to the area of River Street and Memorial Drive at approximately 1:30 p.m. for reports of shots fired. The shooting came shortly after Boston police alerted Cambridge police that a potentially armed suspect had been acting erratically.
The gunman was identified as Tyler Brown, 46, of Boston. His last known address was on Mora Street in Dorchester, and Ryan said he was in the process of moving to Cambridge.
7NEWS learned Brown has a history of firearm possession, and he served time in prison after being convicted of firing at a Boston police officer in 2020. Ryan said he was under supervision of either the Massachusetts Probation Department or Department of Parole at the time of the shooting.
— Samantha York live in Dorchester at Suspect’s Last Known Address —
Brown is accused of firing more than 50 rounds at random at cars driving down Memorial Road. Two men, one of whom was driving an MBTA rideshare van, were shot. They were both taken to area hospital with critical injuries.
Ryan said as many as 12 vehicles were hit by the barrage of bullets, including a state police cruiser.
“There is no reason to suggest that there’s any connection between this individual and any of the people who were in any of those cars,” Ryan said.
— Alex DiPrato Details Damage to USPS Mail Truck —
Ryan said a Massachusetts State Police trooper and a civilian United States Marine Corps veteran ran toward Brown and were able to take him down. Brown was shot by police multiple times, and was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a Boston hospital.
“Today we saw, in a moment of crisis, we saw highly trained, highly prepared troopers and police officers responding to a very dangerous incident,” said Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble.
“He’s [Brown’s] going to be charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, possession charges with respect to the weapon, as well as a variety of other charges as we’ll unfold what took place exactly,” Ryan said.
Cambridge police and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office are asking anyone who may have surveillance video or information about the shooting to contact them.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)