Who Is Weezer Bassist Scott Shriner’s Wife, Jillian Lauren, and Why Was She Shot by Police and Arrested for Attempted Murder?

Some Weezer fans were in disbelief after a story broke that the group’s bassist Scott Shriner’s wife, Jillian Shriner aka Jillian Lauren, was shot by police and arrested for attempted murder.

In a press release, the Los Angeles Police Department said that “officers were pursuing three hit-and-run suspects Tuesday (April 8) when they tracked one of them to the backyard of a house. As the officers arrived, they allegedly observed [Jillian] Shriner, 51, armed with a handgun in the yard of her own home nearby. She was not involved in the hit-and-run.”

Authorities alleged that the musician’s wife was ordered to drop her weapon but she refused and was shot by officers in the shoulder after she pointed her gun toward them. She was taken into custody and booked for attempted murder. She was later released after posting a $1 million bond.

Here’s more about Jillian, who is actually famous in her own right.

Jillian is a best-selling author

Jillian is not only married to the Weezer bassist, she’s also a celebrated author across different genres. She grew up in New Jersey and after graduating high school, moved to New York City where she briefly attended NYU.

Jillian is a bestselling author of several novels and autobiographies, including Everything You Ever Wanted (2015), Pretty (2011), and Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (2010). Some Girls chronicles the 18 months she spent as a teenage concubine in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei.

The book’s synopsis reads: “At eighteen, Jillian Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The ‘casting director’ told her that a rich businessman in Singapore would pay pretty American girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties. Soon, Jillian found herself on a plane to Borneo, where she would spend the next eighteen months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, youngest brother of the Sultan of Brunei.”

Jillian also published a true crime book titled Behold the Monster in which she interviewed serial killer Samuel Little. That story was told in the Starz documentary Confronting a Serial Killer.

Jillian and Scott Shriner adopted two children

Scott and Jillian have been married since 2005 and have adopted two children.

Jillian was adopted herself and has opened up about her and Scott’s choice to adopt after she was unable to get pregnant.

In an interview with The Rumpus, she talked about adopting their oldest son Tariku, who has special needs, sharing: “For a long time, I really felt like I needed to be pregnant. Having been adopted, I never was around someone who looked like me. I felt like I needed a pregnancy to feel this primal connection to the earth. But what I found was that I received that feeling of connection and belonging through Tariku.”

Jillian added: “This process has really opened up my life and my heart and made me realize how much I don’t know. It’s great when you figure out how much you don’t know. Much better than knowing it all, which is how I started.”