Man with assault rifle wildly shoots at drivers near Boston, wounding 2,
officials say
[May 13, 2026]
By MICHAEL CASEY, HOLLY RAMER and KIMBERLEE KRUESI
BOSTON (AP) — A man previously convicted of firing a gun at police shot
at motorists on a busy road outside Boston, seriously wounding two
drivers with an assault-style weapon and sending others scrambling
before a state trooper returned fire with a Marine veteran who pulled
over, authorities said Tuesday.
Bullets tore through at least a dozen cars, including a state police
cruiser, in the Monday afternoon attack as panicked drivers abandoned
their vehicles seeking cover, prosecutors and state police said.
The gunman fired more than 60 rounds as he walked beside the road before
he was shot and fell wounded, according to authorities. They said the
two motorists were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
The shooting happened on a heavily traveled road along the Charles River
in Cambridge, home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. Sidewalks and riverside paths in the area are often
bustling with pedestrians, joggers and cyclists.
“While people were jumping from their cars, scattering in various
directions … both that trooper and that civilian, rather than going in
one direction, went toward the suspect with their weapons to try to end
that situation,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said later
Monday night.
The suspect, Tyler Brown, 46, of Boston, faces two counts of armed
assault with intent to murder and six other charges, including
possessing a gun without a license. Court documents show Brown had
recently been released from a psychiatric hospital.
About an hour before the shootings, he connected with his parole officer
via video conference. Armed with a gun, he said on video that he had
relapsed and wanted to end his life. The parole officer called police,
who began searching for Brown and found him in Cambridge using phone
records.
Witnesses describe chaotic scene
Armando Zona, whose apartment overlooks the scene, initially thought he
was hearing construction equipment when banging noises started. But when
he went onto his balcony to check, he saw the gunman firing at cars.
“He took a glance towards here, I'm quite sure about that, and I ran,"
he said. As Zona yelled to his wife to hide in the bathroom, he heard
another bang.
“I turned around, I see the window splattered,” he said. “I could not
comprehend, how can this be? This is a bullet that just came into my
house.”
Rachael Saveriano said she was trapped in her car as Brown walked toward
her, waving his gun. A man later described as the Marine veteran helped
her escape, she told The Boston Globe.
“It doesn’t feel like you should get out of the car when there is a
shooter coming toward you, but there was a man next to me,” she said.
“He opened my car door, pulled me out, and told me to run.”
Saveriano said she saw the man shooting at Brown as she fled.
“He is an incredible hero,” she said. “He was so calm, and he didn’t
hesitate.”
The Marine veteran told investigators he had been driving southbound
when he saw cars turning around and heard gunfire. A former firearms
instructor, he retrieved his pistol from a safe in his backseat and —
after the gunman got closer — fired eight rounds, according to a
criminal complaint.
Court documents include criminal history, mental health issues
The complaint describes what led up to the shootings. According to
investigators, Brown had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
disorder, anxiety and depression and had been released Friday from a
psychiatric hospital.
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Police respond to the scene of a shooting on Monday, May 11, 2026 in
Cambridge, Mass. (Jessica Rinaldi /The Boston Globe via AP)
According to the complaint, Brown is on parole and probation for
offenses including armed assault to murder and other gun-related
convictions. His parole was set to end this week, though his
probation continued.
In 2020, Brown was arrested after firing several rounds at Boston
police officers, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's
Office. Prosecutors said then that he should serve at least 10 years
in prison, due to 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 Brown to serve five to
six years in state prison and three years of probation with credit
for nearly 18 months spent in custody.
At the time, the judge’s decision sparked outrage and criticism
among local officials concerned that violent offenders weren’t being
held accountable. Those same concerns returned Monday.
“Talk about a ball drop,” said the Boston Police Patrolmen's
Association in a statement on social media. “The fact that the
judicial system thought it was prudent to show leniency to a wannabe
cop killer 5-years ago is not only the definition of insanity but an
undeniable insult to those who put their lives on the line
everyday.”
Joey Bennett, a friend of Brown's who rode his bike to the scene
after hearing about the shooting, said that he “can't make sense of
it.”
“Only thing that makes sense to me is that he was struggling,”
Bennett said, adding that his friend “had a good heart” and that “we
all get stigmatized by our past.”
“He obviously was going through a moment because the person that I
know, I don’t understand why he would be right here doing what he
did," he said. "I mean, he could have made other decisions other
than doing what he did . But the only thing I can say is that mental
health is real. Mental health is not taken seriously across the
United States until there always is a shooting or something that
happens to innocent people.”
No connection found between shooter, victims
Ryan, the district attorney, said investigators found no connection
between Brown and those targeted Monday. She renewed her call for
harsher penalties on people who fire weapons disregarding the risk
of serious injury.
“What happened today cannot stand,” she said.
Brown was not medically ready to go to court for an arraignment, the
Cambridge District Court said Tuesday. The Committee for Public
Counsel Services confirmed it has been appointed to defend him but
declined to comment. A message was also left at a phone number
listed for Brown and a potential family member.
___
Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Kruesi reported from
Providence, Rhode Island.
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