Alleged Memorial Drive shooter pleads not guilty to 43 counts

A Boston man pleaded not guilty Thursday to 43 counts stemming from a May 11 shooting on Memorial Drive in Cambridge that seriously injured two people and sent motorists and pedestrians scrambling for safety, court records show. 

Tyler E. Brown IV, 46, was indicted Aug. 25 in Middlesex Superior Court on charges including six counts of armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, and four counts of assault and battery to a person over 60, according to court records. 

Brown was previously charged in Cambridge District Court and pleaded not guilty from his hospital bed. 

Brown began “firing erratically” at vehicles on the busy Cambridge roadway between 784 and 808 Memorial Drive around 1:30 p.m., seriously injuring two men in their respective cars, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan previously said.

Court documents state the shooting came after Brown was scheduled to meet with his parole officer over suspected drug use, which was a violation of parole conditions from a 2020 Suffolk Superior Court case, in which he is facing eight firearm-related charges. 

Around noon, Brown allegedly showed a firearm during FaceTime calls with his parole officer and a “civilian witness” and said he was not going back to jail, per court documents. 

Both tried to dissuade him, and the parole officer notified the Boston Police Department, prosecutors said.  

Police pinged Brown’s phone to Kelly Road in Cambridge, where local and state officers responded. But around 1:30 p.m., 911 calls began reporting that a person was shooting on Memorial Drive, according to court documents. 

The statement of facts outlines 15 victims in the case, including motorists and pedestrians whose vehicles were struck by gunfire as they tried to escape the area.

One victim was shot at multiple times through his car while driving out of the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot at 808 Memorial Drive, prosecutors said. 

He was found unconscious with shallow breathing and taken to a hospital. He is expected to recover from his injuries, per court documents. 

An MBTA Ride driver, who was over 60, was also struck in the back of the head by a bullet during the incident. He drove himself to the hospital, where doctors found a bullet fragment in his head. He was later discharged, and the fragment was removed without causing serious physical injury, according to court documents. 

As Brown continued firing, a US Marine Corps veteran who was legally licensed to carry a firearm got out of his vehicle and returned fire, prosecutors said. Two bullets struck the veteran’s car.

A Massachusetts State Police trooper then exchanged gunfire with Brown and shot him. Even after being shot, Brown continued firing from the ground until he ran out of ammunition, prosecutors said. 

He was then taken into custody and transported to a hospital, where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his head, leg, and extremities, according to court documents. 

Brown was ordered Thursday to remain held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Oct. 8, court records show. 

Records reveal Brown has a laundry list of prior criminal charges and convictions to his name, including prior assault, firearm, and drug charges spanning more than a decade, such as a conviction in a 2014 knife attack. 

An attorney for Brown did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.