New revelations after Jillian Lauren, wife of Weezer bassist, accused of shooting at LAPD
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Jillian Lauren, wife of Weezer bass player Scott Shriner, was thrust into the spotlight this week after a bizarre chain of events that culminated in the bestselling author being shot by police and allegations that she tried to murder an LAPD officer.
Here’s what we know:
What are the events that led to Lauren’s arrest?
The chaos began with three suspects fleeing a hit-and-run on the 134 Freeway around 3:25 p.m. Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Police Department, responding to a request for assistance by the California Highway Patrol, was scouring the surrounding neighborhood of Eagle Rock for the suspects.
The manhunt led officers to the back of a residence near where Lauren and Shriner live, police said. There, officers said they saw Lauren standing in the backyard of her neighboring property with a handgun drawn.
Jillian Lauren, an author and the wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after police say she fired her gun at officers. She was wounded in the shooting.
Lauren pointed her gun at officers and repeatedly ignored commands to drop her weapon, police said. Then, she opened fire, department spokesperson Jennifer Forkish said in a statement to The Times.
Lauren was hit by officer gunfire and fled into her home. She later exited the property and was transported to the hospital by the Los Angeles Fire Department, police said.
Lauren’s manager, Charlie Fusco, said late Thursday he had no comment on the incident, and her lawyer did not respond to The Times’ request for comment.
After the shooting, police determined Lauren was a resident in the home and unrelated to the hit-and-run.
They examined shell case evidence and reviewed video camera footage, then booked her on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer, said Forkish. Police recovered a 9-mm handgun from her home.
The Highway Patrol, meanwhile, took the suspected hit-and-run driver into custody around 4:20 p.m, according to agency spokesperson Daniel Keene. He was found in a nearby backyard stripped down to his boxers.
The freeway collision involved three vehicles and sent one person to the hospital with moderate injuries, according to the Highway Patrol. The other two suspects who fled the hit-and-run were not located, police said.
What comes next for Lauren and Shriner?
Lauren posted $1-million bail and was released from custody around 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Los Angeles jail records. She is scheduled to appear in court on April 30.
As of Thursday afternoon, charges had not been filed against Lauren.
The LAPD had yet to present a case against Lauren to the L.A. County district attorney’s office, according to an office spokesperson. The D.A.’s office will ultimately decide what, if any, charges are filed against her.
In California, the attempted murder of a peace officer without premeditation is punishable by a five-, seven- or nine-year sentence. Use of a firearm can lead to an enhanced sentence.
Shriner, meanwhile, is scheduled to perform at Coachella on Saturday alongside his Weezer bandmates Rivers Cuomo, drummer Patrick Wilson and guitarist Brian Bell.
Shriner was asked about his wife’s injury and arrest in an encounter with media outside his home Thursday.
“She’s all right, thank you for asking,” he told TMZ while walking his four dogs.
“See you at Coachella!” he added, appearing to promote the show, the band’s fourth appearance at the Indio festival.
Weezer is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles that rose to fame with its 1994 “Blue Album” and has since earned multiple Grammy nominations and sold more than 35 million albums worldwide.
Lauren, meanwhile, has yet to speak publicly or issue a statement following her arrest.
Who is Jillian Lauren?
Lauren is a bestselling author from New Jersey known for her personal memoirs and investigative storytelling. She gained recognition for her 2010 memoir, “Some Girls: My Life in a Harem,” describing her experiences living in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei for around a year in the mid-1990s.
She shares two sons with Shriner, whom she married in 2005. She wrote about her struggles with infertility and her journey to motherhood through adoption in her 2015 memoir, “Everything You Ever Wanted.” Her writing has appeared in publications including The Times, the New York Times, Salon, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar.
In 2023, she published “Behold the Monster: Facing America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer,” based on her interviews with serial killer Samuel Little. This book served as the inspiration for the Starz documentary series “Confronting a Serial Killer.”
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