Jillian, Scott Shriner’s Ex-Wife, Shares Her Thoughts on the LAPD Shooting: ‘It Shattered My World’

Scott Shriner in April 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio; Jillian Lauren-Shriner in Los Angeles in May 2025.

Mike Coppola/Getty; Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Jillian Lauren-Shriner, estranged wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, has spoken out about the April shooting involving the Los Angeles Police Department.
• In a recent Rolling Stone interview, she stated, “I was doing the best I knew to protect my family.”
• Reports confirmed that Lauren-Shriner was shot by police during a manhunt for suspects involved in a hit-and-run incident near their home.

In her first interview since the incident, Jillian Lauren-Shriner discussed the April shooting that became a focal point in her life and her marriage to Scott Shriner, the bassist for Weezer. The Rolling Stone article, published on December 20, details how Lauren-Shriner, 52, was shot by police during an operation aimed at apprehending three suspects fleeing a hit-and-run incident in her neighborhood.

At that time, Lauren-Shriner, who was reported to have no connection to the case, was armed and fired a weapon at officers from her backyard, which resulted in her arrest. She was subsequently released from custody on a $1 million bond.

Scott Shriner and Jillian Lauren-Shriner in Beverly Hills, Calif. in November 2018.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Describing the aftermath, Lauren-Shriner expressed her profound emotional turmoil: “My world fell to pieces around me in a heartbeat. It’s like, you spend your whole life just getting an entire deck of cards in order. And just take them and throw them up in the air one day, and I’m still waiting to see how they’re gonna land.”
She emphasized her intentions during the incident: “I was doing the best I knew to protect my family,” reiterating that her actions were driven by a sense of self-defense.

In the wake of her arrest, she found solace by memorizing the graffiti on the walls of her jail cell. “It gave me a chance to get out of my head for those hours in the jail cell and imagine who else had been there,” Lauren-Shriner said. Initially hesitant to share her story in book form, she changed her mind, stating, “Books are what I do.”

Earlier this month, Lauren-Shriner filed for divorce from Scott Shriner, 60, after 20 years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” according to legal documents. The couple wed in November 2005 and has two sons, Jovanni Starshine, 13, and Tariku Moon, 17. Lauren-Shriner seeks joint legal and physical custody, spousal support, and has requested that her last name be reverted to Lauren.

In the months leading to her divorce filing, Lauren-Shriner disclosed her cancer diagnosis via Instagram in March, later revealing she underwent two surgeries, including a full hysterectomy.

In her Rolling Stone interview, she attributed the police incident as a significant turning point in her marriage, stating, “I had to go back and work on trauma from a long time ago in order to try and understand myself now, my actions.” She expressed a desire to become her “best self” during this challenging period.

Feeling the weight of public scrutiny, Lauren-Shriner remarked, “The headlines about the divorce were the ones that really hurt me. I was the one who served my husband, but still, to see it in the public was really painful.”

The police shooting incident occurred on April 8 near the couple’s home in Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock neighborhood amid a manhunt for suspects involved in a hit-and-run. Although Lauren-Shriner had no connection to the crime, she fired her weapon at an officer, prompting the police response. LAPD spokesperson Jennifer Forkish confirmed that she ignored repeated commands to disarm.

As a result, she was shot in the shoulder by an officer and transported to a hospital. Initially charged with attempted murder, Lauren-Shriner was later indicted for a lesser charge of assault and negligent discharge of a firearm. Court documents indicate that she was allowed into a diversion program to address mental health issues instead of facing jail time.