No Suspects in Custody After Gunshots in Harvard Square, Cambridge Police Say

Updated April 20, 2025, at 6:56 p.m.

The Cambridge Police Department confirmed shortly before 4 p.m. that no suspects were in police custody in connection with a Sunday afternoon shooting in Harvard Square.

“At this time, there are no suspects in custody,” CPD Superintendent Frederick Cabral wrote in a statement to The Crimson more than an hour after a campus-wide shelter-in-place order was lifted by the Harvard University Police Department.

“The shelter in place was not issued by CPD. You would have to check HUPD for that,” Cabral added.

The incident drew a response from CPD, HUPD, and MBTA Transit Police. Transit Police officers responded to reports of gunshots at 2:12 p.m., according to superintendent Richard Sullivan. An investigation is still ongoing, though there are no known victims.

“Currently, there are no victims and no evidence to suggest a victim was struck,” Sullivan wrote, adding that the suspect “ultimately fled the station.”

As of Sunday evening, suspects still had not been identified.

Asked three times on Sunday afternoon whether a suspect had been found, HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano declined each time to answer.

“The shelter in place has been lifted,” he wrote, adding that “people can go about their business.”

The shelter-in-place order was first issued at 2:46 p.m., before being lifted at 3:18 p.m. Cambridge police responded at 2:15 to reports of shots fired at Harvard Square. The incident also drew a response from the MBTA Transit Police and HUPD.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart.