(CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Two people were shot and left with life-threatening injuries after a gunman began shooting into traffic in Cambridge on Monday afternoon near Harvard University, according to officials.
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said during a press briefing after the incident that a gunman with an assault-style rifle was “actively firing in an erratic fashion at various vehicles.”
The shooting occurred in the vicinity of Memorial Drive and River Street before 1:30 p.m.
A trooper and a civilian, a former Marine, fired their weapons and struck the gunman, who was later identified as Tyler Brown, multiple times, according to the DA. Brown is under arrest and is hospitalized, Ryan said.
Brown is now facing six new felony charges, including two for assault with intent to murder.
He was under probation supervision for a previous crime, according to the DA.
Brown was sentenced to five to six years in state prison and three years of probation in August 2021 after he fired at Boston Police. Brown pleaded guilty to eight charges, including armed assault with intent to murder and attempted assault and battery by means of discharging a firearm, according to a 2021 statement from the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.
Brown was also previously required to undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, according to the DA’s office.
Brown was also on probation at the time of the 2021 incident for a 2014 assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (knife) and witness intimidation conviction, according to the DA’s office. He was sentenced to four to five years in state prison for violating his probation to be served concurrently.
The DA’s office had recommended Brown be sentenced 10 to 12 years, criticizing the lower sentence.
“My office recommended a significant sentence for Mr. Brown given the nature of his offenses and the trauma and harm he inflicted. I am disappointed in the sentence that was imposed,” then-District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a 2021 statement.
The two people who were struck by gunfire were in their vehicles at the time.
Aerial footage from ABC News’ Boston affiliate WCVB showed the gunman being apprehended by police at the scene.
WCVB footage also showed a black Dodge sedan off the side of the road after an apparent crash.
A rifle was seen on the grass in the area, according to WCVB.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that there is no ongoing threat to the public, but asked that residents “avoid the area to allow public safety personnel to do their work.”
Lisa Schill, a witness to the shooting, told WCVB she was in a school van on the way to pick up kids at school. She said she left the van and began running from the incident on foot.
“I was running for my life,” Schill told the publication.
ABC News’ Chris Barry contributed to this report.
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