CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A woman caught in traffic during Monday’s shooting on Memorial Drive in Cambridge says she is still shaken by the terrifying ordeal and deeply grateful to the Marine veteran who helped her escape to safety.
Rachel Lemire Saveriano was driving along Memorial Drive when she says she suddenly saw a gunman firing shots randomly in the middle of the street.
“He seemed very erratic. I could see the gunman, I could see him walking towards me. He was kind of waving the gun back and forth and then he would pick it up and shoot it,” Saveriano said.
Stuck in heavy traffic with no way to turn around, Saveriano said she felt trapped and unsure how to escape the danger.
That’s when a man suddenly opened her car door and urged her to run.
“This man opened my car door and he said, ‘Run,’ and he kept the door open like as a barricade,” she recalled. “I didn’t even think about why he had a gun, but I could just tell that he was a good guy, and so I ran.”
Authorities say the man was a Marine veteran with a license to carry. According to police, he and a Massachusetts State Police trooper both fired at the suspect in an effort to stop the threat.
Saveriano said the Marine shielded her from the gunfire and helped direct her to safety.
She eventually ran to the nearby Courtyard Marriott Boston Cambridge Hotel, where she warned others about the active shooter situation.
“There were people there that were walking out that didn’t know what was happening, so I said, ‘There’s a shooter,’ and then we all ran into the building together,” she said. “We ran into a back stairwell, and one of the women in the group had a room and she let us all go into her room until we knew it was safe.”
Although still processing the traumatic experience, Saveriano says she is overwhelmed with gratitude for the man who intervened.
“I don’t know who he is, and he doesn’t owe me that — to know who he is,” she said. “But I do hope that if he’s watching any of this coverage, he knows that he truly is an absolutely incredible hero, and I believe that he saved lives.”
The Marine veteran has not been publicly identified and reportedly does not wish to be named.
Saveriano also said she is praying for those injured in the shooting and hopes they make a full recovery.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
