Suspect in Memorial Drive shooting arraigned from hospital bed, pleads not guilty

The man accused of opening fire on Memorial Drive in Cambridge on Monday was arraigned via video conference from his hospital bed Thursday, with a not guilty plea being entered on his behalf.

Tyler Brown, 46, of Boston, is accused of opening fire on dozens of cars traveling in Cambridge Monday afternoon, sending two men to the hospital with serious injuries, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

One of those men, the driver of an MBTA The RIDE van, was released from the hospital on Wednesday.

A state trooper’s report said Brown’s parole officer learned he had been using drugs and was acting erratically after he was released from McLean Hospital in Belmont. Police said Brown had been a patient at the mental health facility until Friday.

The report said that around noon on Monday, a Massachusetts parole officer called Boston police with concerns for Brown, saying he had a FaceTime conversation with him regarding a drug screening. During the conversation, the complaint says Brown shared he had suicidal ideations because of the screening.

The report also said that on the FaceTime call, Brown was waving a rifle around and said, “these people are going to (expletive) pay,” and indicated he did not want to go back to prison.

During another call, the report said “Brown described himself as no longer being Tyler Brown, and said he was now repping his ‘shooter name.’”

“The parole officer could see Mr. Brown was holding a semi-automatic rifle inside a kitchen he did not recognize,” said Prosecutor Nicole Allain.

Prosecutors said Brown’s lengthy criminal history includes a 2021 case where he was convicted of firing on police in Boston. He was also convicted of an armed robbery in Michigan in 1994.

“I do find the government has established probable cause, as a result Mr Brown will be detained,” said Judge David Frank.