Crime

Trooper Landon Veney’s actions “reflected the very best of law enforcement and public service under extraordinarily dangerous circumstances,” Gov. Maura Healey said.

A Massachusetts State Police trooper who helped take down the suspected gunman in Monday’s Memorial Drive shooting is being hailed as a hero as details emerge about the chaotic attack.

One of the first law enforcement officials to arrive at the scene in Cambridge Monday afternoon, Trooper Landon Veney came face-to-face with alleged shooter Tyler Brown, according to a police report filed in court.

Brown, 46, allegedly fired his rifle at Veney before the trooper and a civilian witness — an armed Marine veteran not identified in the report — returned fire and struck Brown in his extremities. Brown was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and now awaits arraignment on charges that include two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and multiple firearms offenses. 

Gov. Maura Healey said Tuesday she reached out to Veney, praising him for the heroism he showed when he “put himself directly in harm’s way.” 

“I spoke with him last night, thanked him, and told him that his actions reflected the very best of law enforcement and public service under extraordinarily dangerous circumstances,” Healey said, also thanking the ex-Marine and other first responders who were at the scene. 

Daniel Moynihan, an attorney representing Veney, told Boston25 News the three-year trooper “acted accordingly according to his training.” Moynihan did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. 

Veney “saw the gun-wielding assailant waving the gun in the air, walking down the street,” he told Boston25. “He obviously feared for the lives of the public, who he saw scattering from their vehicles and driving their vehicles chaotically up onto the median to get away from this man.” 

A State Police spokesperson was not immediately available for comment Wednesday on Veney’s current duty status. However, Moynihan told Boston25 the trooper remains on leave amid the ongoing investigation into the shooting. 

Prosecutors say Brown began “firing erratically” on Memorial Drive near River Street around 1:30 p.m. Monday, seriously injuring two men as they sat in their respective vehicles. One of the alleged victims was driving for the MBTA’s The RIDE paratransit service at the time, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan previously confirmed. 

Speaking to WHDH, the man’s family identified him as a 62-year-old father of eight from Somerville. WHDH did not name the man, who was reportedly on his way to pick up a passenger when a bullet tore through the back of the van and struck him. 

“My dad was caught in the crossfire and hit in the head,” one of his daughters told the news outlet. “The bullet is still there. He is surrounded by love and truly blessed to have survived. We are thankful and grateful to God.”

Boston25 reported that the man drove himself to the hospital despite his head injury. The man’s current condition was not immediately clear; according to WHDH, he was released from the hospital Tuesday night. 

Local media reports identified Casmir Bangoura as the second man who was wounded in Monday’s gunfire. His uncle told The Boston Globe Bangoura was heading to a local car wash as a favor to his sister when he was caught in the barrage of bullets. 

A 35-year-old Cambridge resident and DoorDash driver, Bangoura reportedly underwent surgery Tuesday after he was shot in both legs and one of his arms. He is expected to survive, his uncle told the Globe. 

Witnesses have described a frenzied scene Monday on Memorial Drive, with some drivers making hasty U-turns or abandoning their cars in the middle of the roadway in an attempt to flee. 

Rachael Saveriano was in her car on Memorial Drive when Brown allegedly began firing and told WHDH she saw people exiting their vehicles as gunshots rang out. She credited the unidentified ex-Marine with getting her out of her car and urging her to run for cover. 

“I don’t know who he is,” she told the news outlet. “He doesn’t owe me that to know who he is, but I do hope that if he’s watching any of this coverage, he knows that he truly is an absolute incredible hero and I believe that he saved lives.”