A bestselling author who was shot by police is accused of firing at officers as they searched for multiple hit-and-run suspects in her residential Los Angeles neighborhood, a police official said Thursday.
An investigation revealed shell casing and video showed Jillian Lauren Shriner repeatedly ignoring police commands to disarm during an encounter Wednesday and firing her weapon, Los Angeles police communications director Jennifer Forkish said in a statement.
She was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and booked on a charge of attempted murder. Jail records show she was released on bond Wednesday night.
No one else was injured.
Shriner, 51, who is married to Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, is a journalist and the author of several books, including “Behold the Monster: Confronting America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer.”
She did not respond to a request for comment. Her manager declined to comment.
A representative for Shriner has not responded to a request for comment.
A source close to Weezer told NBC News that the band plans to play at the Coachella music festival this weekend. It isn’t clear whether Scott Shriner will play.
Authorities said the confrontation occurred Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock neighborhood after three suspects in a hit-and-run on a nearby freeway ditched their vehicle and ran into the residential area.
The California Highway Patrol had sought help from the Los Angeles Police Department to find the suspects. When officers were directed to the backyard of a home where one of the suspects was seen, they saw Shriner armed with a handgun in a neighboring yard, the police department said in a news release.
“The officers ordered Shriner to drop the handgun numerous times,” it said. “However, she refused. Shriner then pointed the handgun at the officers.”
Forkish did not provide additional details about whether the video indicated Shriner said anything before she is alleged to have opened fire.
The police department said in the news release that Shriner was not involved in the hit-and-run and that she was in the backyard of her home when authorities ordered her to drop her gun.
After Shriner was struck by gunfire, she ran into her house, the police department said. She was later taken into custody and hospitalized. A 9 mm gun was found during a search of her home, according to the release.
One of the hit-and-run suspects was found, cited and released, the police department said. The two others were not.
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