Mass.: Veteran and Trooper heroically halt gunman’s rampage in Cambridge, 2 injured and suspect in custody

OAN Staff Lillian Mann
5:55 PM – Tuesday, May 12, 2026

A chaotic scene unfolded along the banks of the Charles River on Monday as a gunman, previously convicted in 2020 for firing at police, unleashed a barrage of over 60 rounds on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

Waving a rifle, the shooter haphazardly strode down the busy thoroughfare — a major artery situated between Harvard University and MIT — forcing panicked commuters to abandon their vehicles and scramble for cover beneath their cars.

The indiscriminate gunfire resulted in life-threatening injuries for two men, including a driver, as bullets struck at least a dozen passing vehicles.

Nonetheless, the rampage was fortunately brought to an abrupt end through the swift intervention of a Massachusetts State Trooper and a former Marine. As the suspect continued his assault on the crowded riverside path, both the trooper and the veteran civilian engaged the gunman, returning fire and wounding him until he collapsed.

Authorities have not yet publicly released the names of the former Marine or the Massachusetts State Trooper involved in the intervention.

They did confirm, however, that the shooter had been released from a psychiatric facility only three days prior and was on parole at the time of the attack. Following his apprehension, the suspect was hospitalized and he now faces multiple charges, including armed assault with intent to murder.

The shooter was later identified as 46-year-old Tyler Brown.

“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 at a news conference Monday night.

While District Attorney Marian Ryan stated that investigators found no direct connection between the gunman and his victims, the incident has reignited a fierce debate over sentencing for violent offenders.

This scrutiny stems from the shooter’s lengthy criminal history, most notably a 2020 arrest for firing multiple rounds at Boston police officers. At that time, despite prosecutors’ arguments for a minimum ten-year sentence based on his “brazen violence” and a prior 2014 conviction for assault and witness intimidation, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced him to only five to six years in state prison.

By crediting the defendant with nearly 18 months of time served and issuing a sentence well below the prosecution’s recommendation, Judge Sanders’ 2020 decision prompted public outrage and concerns regarding judicial accountability.

Following Monday’s shooting in Cambridge, those same frustrations have resurfaced as officials and the public question how a violent offender with a history of targeting law enforcement was back on the streets. DA Ryan has since reiterated the urgent demand for harsher penalties to ensure that individuals with proven records of high-level violence are not given the opportunity to offend again.

“Talk about a ball drop,” said the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association in a statement posted 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 every day.”

Rachel Saveriano, a driver who found herself trapped in the direct line of fire, described a harrowing scene as motorists desperately attempted to execute U-turns to escape the gunman.

Saveriano recalled the terror of watching the suspect advance toward her vehicle while brandishing his rifle. Her ordeal only ended when a man, subsequently identified as a former Marine, heroically intervened.

This veteran moved toward the danger to confront the shooter, effectively coming to Saveriano’s rescue and providing a critical defense during the height of the attack.

“I didn’t know what to do. 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 continued. “He opened my car door, pulled me out, and told me to run. He made a barricade with the door and I just started running.”

“He is an incredible hero. He was so calm, and he didn’t hesitate. I hope they [the Marine and Trooper] are alive, I hope they are okay. My heart is breaking for them.”

The Cambridge District Court announced on Tuesday that Brown was unable to appear for his scheduled arraignment. Officials stated that the suspect was not medically fit to attend the proceedings, as he remains hospitalized for the injuries sustained when the state trooper and the former Marine returned fire during the incident.

As a result of his condition, the legal process has been temporarily delayed until medical professionals determine he is stable enough to face the formal charges against him.

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