A quiet Tuesday in Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock neighborhood erupted into chaos when Jillian Lauren — author, speaker, and wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner — was shot by police and later booked on suspicion of attempted murder. The extraordinary turn of events has left a cloud of confusion and concern hanging over the upscale enclave.

The chain reaction began not with Lauren, but with a car crash. At around 3:25 p.m. on Tuesday, California Highway Patrol officers were chasing three individuals who had fled the scene of a misdemeanor hit-and-run on the Ventura Freeway. The suspects bailed on foot, dispersing into the residential streets of Eagle Rock — one of them darting behind homes on Waldo Place, the same cul-de-sac where Jillian Lauren resides.

As LAPD officers responded to assist in the pursuit, they came upon an unexpected and far more complicated scene. According to the department’s official account, officers spotted a woman in a neighboring yard holding a pistol. That woman was later identified as 51-year-old Jillian Lauren Shriner.

Despite commands from officers to drop the weapon, police allege that Lauren refused — and then pointed the firearm at them. Officers responded by opening fire, striking Lauren in the shoulder. She reportedly fled inside her home following the shooting.

Moments later, with helicopters capturing the drama from above, Lauren emerged from her home with another woman. Both lay face-down on the lawn, surrendering to police. Lauren was taken into custody but was not formally arrested in the traditional sense due to her injuries. Instead, she was "absentee booked" for attempted murder — a procedure used when suspects require immediate medical attention before being processed through the jail system.

A 9mm handgun was recovered from her property. Police maintain she was not connected to the original hit-and-run case that brought them to the neighborhood in the first place. Still, her alleged actions during their search for the suspects escalated the situation to a level no one could have predicted.

Lauren was treated for her injuries at a local hospital and later released on bond. Her court date has been scheduled for April 30. Scott Shriner, her husband of nearly two decades, was reportedly not involved and has not commented publicly on the incident.

Attempts by NPR and other media outlets to contact Lauren’s legal or public relations representatives have so far gone unanswered. The local district attorney’s office has also remained tight-lipped about what charges, if any, Lauren may ultimately face.

Jillian Lauren’s Background: From Royal Harems to Serial Killers

A woman of many lives, Jillian Lauren rose to public attention with her 2010 memoir Some Girls: My Life in a Harem, chronicling her time in the Prince of Brunei’s inner circle. The book gained widespread attention for its raw, unfiltered glimpse into a hidden world of power, control, and opulence.

More recently, Lauren garnered acclaim — and stirred conversation — for Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer. The true-crime book detailed her unsettling relationship with serial killer Samuel Little, whom she interviewed extensively. Her work, which began with a conversation with an LAPD homicide detective, sought to give voice to the victims often lost in true-crime narratives.

Outside her writing, Lauren has also built a platform as an adoption advocate. As both an adoptee and adoptive mother of two sons, she has spoken at TEDx and contributed to "The Moth" with deeply personal stories on identity, motherhood, and belonging.

A Narrative Still Unfolding

What led Lauren to be armed in her yard that afternoon — and whether she posed a real threat — remains a mystery. Was it fear? Confusion? A tragic misunderstanding in the heat of an adrenaline-fueled pursuit?

In a city already fraught with tension over police encounters and mental health crises, this story adds a perplexing new layer. Jillian Lauren — a woman known for telling other people’s stories, especially those on the margins — is now at the center of a legal and emotional storm.

The world will be watching closely as her story unfolds in the courtroom this spring.