Cambridge Shooting Suspect Pleads Not Guilty, Held Without Bail

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Tyler Brown pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges stemming from the shooting on Memorial Drive earlier this week.

The 46-year-old was arraigned virtually from the hospital by Judge David E. Frank out of Cambridge District Court in Medford on two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, carrying a firearm without a license, and possessing a large-capacity firearm. Brown was represented by Defense Attorney Carolyn McGowan of McGowan and Associates, who sat at Brown’s bedside during the hearing.

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Prosecution recounted the events leading up to the events on Monday that left two men hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds.

“Mr. Brown called his parole officer again and said that he was no longer Tyler Brown and he was going to be representing his shooter’s name,” the prosecution read about Brown’s communication right before the shooting took place. “As he was holding the firearm, he was repeating that he wasn’t going back to jail and made suicidal statements again.”

According to the prosecution, the weapon Brown used was a multi-caliber defense model BCI assault rifle. Brown’s eyes were closed throughout the entirety of the arraignment, and he could be seen shaking his head at times as his criminal history was recited.

“His out-of-state record shows contact with the police out of New Hampshire and Michigan,” the prosecution said.

Brown’s first conviction was in 1994 when he was convicted of armed robbery in Michigan.

The prosecution confirmed that one of the victims, an MBTA bus driver and father of eight, has been released from the hospital after being shot in the back of the head. The other victim, 34-year-old Casmir Bangoura, remains hospitalized after being shot four times in the leg.

Judge Frank ordered Brown be held without bail after prosecutors filed for a dangerousness hearing, which is now set for Thursday, May 21 at 11 a.m.

When law enforcement arrived on the scene Monday, Brown began shooting at them as well before ultimately surrendering. Brown suffered gunshot wounds himself after being shot by a Trooper and a former Marine who had a license to carry. Brown was on parole at the time of the incident stemming from a shootout with Boston police in the spring of 2020.

According to the parole officer, Brown had recently relapsed, using crack cocaine and expressing suicidal thoughts. A neighbor of Brown corroborated that story, saying Brown was acting erratically the night before and was also drinking alcohol. He was released from McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Belmont on Friday, May 8.

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