Tyler Brown has been identified as the suspected gunman in Monday’s shooting on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Who is Tyler Brown and what is his criminal history?
According to a law enforcement source cited by Boston 25 News, Brown is a 46-year-old man with an extensive criminal record.
In 2020, he was charged with attempting to kill Boston police officers after allegedly opening fire on law enforcement during an encounter.
Court records show Brown later pleaded guilty to eight charges, including armed assault with intent to murder and attempted assault and battery with a firearm, stemming from the shooting at a Boston police officer.
In 2021, Brown was sentenced to five to six years in state prison, followed by probation. The court also ordered him to undergo mental health evaluations and treatment.
At the time, then–Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins criticized the sentence as too lenient, saying she was “disappointed." She had sought a prison term of 10 to 12 years, followed by five years of probation.
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What happened on Monday?
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What happened on Monday?
{{/usCountry}}At about 12:30 p.m. Monday, Boston police officers attempted to conduct a wellbeing check at Brown’s home in Dorchester after his parole officer alerted authorities that he had allegedly made suicidal statements.
According to reports, Brown was also seen during a FaceTime call holding what appeared to be an assault-style rifle and allegedly threatened to use it.
Authorities say Brown later opened fire on passing vehicles along Memorial Drive before being shot by a Massachusetts State Police trooper and taken into custody.
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Witness accounts
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as gunfire erupted along the busy roadway.
“A guy holding a rifle, a semi-automatic rifle...I ran. He just started shooting out of nowhere, and he shot a lot,” Mobil worker Dennis Rodriguez told Boston 25 News. “The guy who was shooting, they shot him down over there.”
Another witness compared the scene to the video game Grand Theft Auto.
“He got into a gunfight with the cops. I was on the phone with 911,” the witness recalled. "Once he got in that gunfight, that’s when he got dropped."