Two weeks after a critical incident involving bestselling author Jillian Lauren, who is also the wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) released dramatic bodycam footage and security videos. This incident took place outside her home in Los Angeles and has garnered significant media attention. The LAPD shared the footage on their YouTube channel, providing insight into the events that unfolded.
The LAPD’s video montage shows officers yelling at a woman identified as Lauren. The officers, positioned behind a fence, repeatedly demand that she drop her gun. Their voices echo in the recordings as they shout at her more than ten times to comply. Toward the conclusion of the exchange, one officer identifies himself as “police,” while another mentions his affiliation with the California Highway Patrol.
Additional footage from Lauren’s home surveillance system offers another angle on the events. The video captures her exiting her residence while holding a black handgun, walking around her backyard, and looking in various directions. Although the video appears to show her manipulating and firing the gun, it is recorded from a distance and lacks sound. After what seems like a slight recoil, Lauren walks away calmly, raising questions about her state of mind during the incident.
According to police bodycam footage, the situation escalated quickly. As soon as an officer warned, “Oh, she racked it,” the officers opened fire, discharging more than six shots in rapid succession. The LAPD later released this footage, compiling it into a nearly 22-minute presentation to outline the current state of evidence in this high-profile case, which remains under investigation.
The incident occurred around 3:55 p.m. on April 8, as officers were searching for several hit-and-run suspects believed to be hiding in the Eagle Rock neighborhood. An hour after the shooting, Lauren exited her home and was taken into custody without incident. She was transported to a hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her arm.
After her release from the hospital, Lauren was booked in absentia on suspicion of attempted murder. She was later granted bail and has a court date set for April 30, as confirmed by online booking records. LAPD Commander Alex Chogyoji provided further details in the newly released video, indicating that officers saw Lauren armed with the handgun while they were in the vicinity. He stated, “The officers gave Shriner repeated verbal commands to drop the handgun; however, she did not comply.”
Following the shooting, investigators recovered a 9mm Glock handgun and a spent shell casing from the scene. The YouTube video also includes several 911 calls related to the incident. One call is made by an individual inside the house with Lauren after she was shot, who informs the operator that she was shot amid the police manhunt. In the background, Lauren can be heard explaining the situation, saying, “I had my gun, and he said, ‘Put down that gun. Put down that gun.’ I said, ‘Put down your fucking gun.’ And then he shot me.”
As of now, Jillian Lauren, 51, has not publicly commented on the video released by the LAPD. She is known for her literary works, including her first memoir, Some Girls: My Life in a Harem, published in 2010, and her second memoir, Everything You Ever Wanted, released in May 2015. Both books have achieved New York Times bestseller status, highlighting her success as an author during a tumultuous period in her life.
