Man fatally shot in car near Kendall MBTA station

A passenger in the car was shot several times in Cambridge on Wednesday night. Authorities offered few details about the attack.Scott Eisen for The Boston Globe

CAMBRIDGE — A man in his 30s was shot and killed in a car near the Kendall MBTA station on Wednesday night, officials said.

According to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan, who was at the scene, a passenger in the car was shot several times near 119 Windsor St., and the operator then drove a short distance before stopping near 292 Main St.

Authorities did not give the age or gender of the car’s driver.

“The passenger in that car sustained serious gunshot wounds,” Ryan said. “The driver was seeking help.”

Ryan said the victim was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. Authorities could not yet say whether he was the intended target, she said, adding that the shooter remained at large late Wednesday night.

Asked if authorities had a suspect description from eyewitnesses or video surveillance, Ryan said, “Detectives are interviewing people right now.”

She said investigators were still obtaining information from the driver. About five to eight shots were fired, Ryan said, and the man was hit multiple times.

MIT police sent out alerts in the shooting’s aftermath, notifying the campus that a suspect was not yet in custody and cautioning people to stay away from the Kendall Square area.

At the crime scene, a dark-colored compact vehicle with several bullet holes in the windshield sat across the street from the Boston Marriott Cambridge Hotel, shortly before 10 p.m.

A commuter who did not want to give his name said he emerged from Kendall Station and saw a woman sitting on the ground next to the car screaming, “He’s dead!”

The commuter walked over to the car and said he saw a male slumped over in the passenger seat, covered in blood.

Lucinda Taylor, 24, a neighborhood resident, was out for a walk and happened upon the scene.

“What . . . is Cambridge coming to?” Taylor said when informed that someone had been fatally shot. “That’s sad.”

She also took note of the bullet-riddled vehicle on Main Street, just steps from the entrance to the T stop.

“That’s the car right there,” Taylor said. “Wow.”

Brian Lambert, 51, a Microsoft employee, said he was at work at his office nearby when he heard a commotion.

“Just one of these things, where I’m alone in my office at 9 o’clock at night [wondering], ‘What are these weird noises?’ ”

Informed that someone had been shot, he said, “That’s crazy, though.”

Uniformed and plainclothes officers surrounded the vehicle, and several unmarked cruisers were seen speeding through adjacent streets.

At the Marriott, security supervisor Steve Smith would only say, “The safety of our guests is paramount.”

Lucy Slosser, a hotel spokeswoman, said the Marriott works closely with Cambridge police on an ongoing basis.

“We’ve been in touch with them about tonight’s news reports and stand ready to assist the CPD in any way appropriate,” she said. “We have security plans in place, and we are following them.”

Michael McCaulley, 50, was vacationing from Kansas and staying with his wife at the Marriott.

His said his wife heard a commotion, and he came downstairs to see the badly damaged car.

“I could see bullet holes in the windshield,” said McCaulley, who was amazed that a crime scene unfolded near his hotel.

“There’s a murder right outside,” he said.