'I want the kids to get justice... you're going to pay': Daycare owner, 50, shoots cop husband in head after being told by parents that he'd molested THREE girls he was meant to look after

  • Shanteari Weems, 50, is being held on domestic violence and guns charges
  • She shot her husband James Weems Jr., 57, on Thursday in Washington DC 
  • Weems was under investigation for allegedly molesting three girls at his wife's daycare center, the Lil Kidz Kastle in Maryland 
  • On Thursday, parents texted Shanteari to tell them they had reported her husband
  • She confronted him in their room at the Mandarin Oriental and an argument erupted
  • She wounded him but didn't kill him and a one-hour police standoff followed
  • Eventually, she emerged and was arrested and he was taken to the hospital 
  • On Tuesday, he was arrested in hospital on suspicion of molesting three girls  

A Maryland daycare owner is behind bars after shooting her retired cop husband in the head in a swanky hotel room having just been told by some of her clients that he was molesting their children. 

Shanteari Weems, 50, shot her husband James Weems Jr., 57, on Thursday in their room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington DC. 

The couple from Baltimore were staying at the hotel for Weems to attend an event, when Shanteari received texts from parents of some of the children she teaches at Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare, claiming that he had molested their kids. 

The couple argued in their room and Shanteari produced a gun, firing it at her husband of five years and wounding him. 

He survived, as did she, and the pair were coaxed out of their room after a standoff with police. 

Now, Shanteari is behind bars on domestic violence and gun charges for shooting her husband, and her husband has been arrested for sexual abuse of children. 

He was arrested in the hospital on Thursday on suspicion of abusing three girls while working at his wife's daycare. 

Baltimore County Police Department say they were investigating Weems when he was shot, after receiving reports from the parents. 

It's unclear what kind of condition he is now in.  

Daycare owner Shanteari Weems, 50, is shown being taken into custody on July 20 after shooting her husband in the head. She had just been told that he was molesting some of the kids in her daycare

Daycare owner Shanteari Weems, 50, is shown being taken into custody on July 20 after shooting her husband in the head. She had just been told that he was molesting some of the kids in her daycare

Shanteari Weems, 50, is the owner of Lil Kidz Kastle in Owing Mills, Maryland
James Weems, pictured here, is due to be facing multiple counts of child sex abuse

Shanteari Weems, 50, is the owner of Lil Kidz Kastle in Owing Mills, Maryland

After police were called to the hotel on Thursday, the couple stayed inside the room for an hour before emerging.  

Once inside the hotel room, police found notes he had scribbled in which she said: 'd 'I want him to face the world as scum', 'I hope he gets beat up in jail, and I'm [going to] paralyze you.' 

In other notes, she wrote 'I want these kids to get justice, and you gonna pay' and 'My only regret for me is that I didn't put the bullet in your head.'

There is an ongoing public campaign for her to be freed. 

A GoFundMe page set up to pay for her defense raised $3,000 before the website took it down, and people are now inundating the daycare's Facebook page demanding for her to be released. 

Her next court appearance is on Friday.  

He is thought to have been attending the National Urban League Conference, which was hosting a two-day event at the hotel when the pair were staying there.

After retiring from the police, Weems worked as a private security guard. 

A Baltimore PD spokesman told DailyMail.com on Tuesday: 'James Weems, Jr. retired from the Baltimore Police Department in 2005. 

'He continued to work for the department as a contract specialist until 2008.' 

According to police, around 7:40 p.m. on July 21, a fire alarm went off in room 853 in the hotel. Weems said that when she made the accusations against her husband he made a move 'toward' her. 

That's when she says she took a gun from her purse and shot him. 

The shooting occurred here at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington DC

The shooting occurred here at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington DC 

The couple had been at the $400-a-night hotel in Washington DC for James, a retired cop, to attend an event

The couple had been at the $400-a-night hotel in Washington DC for James, a retired cop, to attend an event 

A GoFundMe page set up to pay for her defense raised $3,000 before the website took it down, and people are now inundating the daycare's Facebook page demanding for her to be released. Her next court appearance is on Friday.

A GoFundMe page set up to pay for her defense raised $3,000 before the website took it down, and people are now inundating the daycare's Facebook page demanding for her to be released. Her next court appearance is on Friday.

The daycare center is inside this multi-business building in Maryland

The daycare center is inside this multi-business building in Maryland 

Responding officers were able to communicate with Weems through the door. 

They asked to enter the room in order to check on the condition of her husband.

An hourlong standoff with a SWAT team ensued with Weems allegedly telling officers: 'If you come in, I'm going to shoot myself' and in reference to her husband: 'F**k him, he's a child molester.' 

Her husband shouted to officers that he had been shot in the head and leg. 

Weems then told him: 'Shut the f**k up, I will kill you.' 

Eventually, officers stormed the hotel room and arrested Weems. They found a gun in her purse and another in the room's safe. 

It's unclear if the gun was registered to the wife or her husband, and why she brought it with her.  

There was a one-hour standoff with police inside the hotel, during which the woman told police how she wanted her husband to go to prison

There was a one-hour standoff with police inside the hotel, during which the woman told police how she wanted her husband to go to prison 

The reports of the shooting prompted a massive police response to the scene

The reports of the shooting prompted a massive police response to the scene

Her husband suffered non-life threatening injuries.  

According to now-deleted LinkedIn page, James Weems served as an infantryman in the US Marine Corps between 1983 and 1987 before joining the Baltimore Police Department in 1996.  

The couple have been married for five years. They live in Baltimore. Weems told police she has reported to her husband to authorities. 

In a notebook, the suspect had written: 'I'm going to shoot [the victim],' 'I'm going to paralyze you,' 'I want [the victim] to face the world as scum,' 'I hope [the victim] to get beat up in jail,' 'I want these kids to get justice, and you gonna pay' and 'My only regret is that I didn't put a bullet in your head.' 

In another letter, Weems wrote an apology to her husband's alleged victims whom she referred to as her 'babies.'

Weems also said that she didn't plan to kill her husband but that she had thoughts of self-harm. 

She also said that she does not normally handle guns. 

Lil Kidz Kastle will be closed until the investigation is complete. 

On the daycare's website, Weems is quoted as saying: 'I build our kids for them to be better people.'

The page also says: 'With a structured staff, love and good character, Mrs Weems leads the charge of the future generation at ​Kidz Kastle CDC!'

A GoFundMe page was set up for Weems by her son and stepdaughter raised $3,000 before being removed. The goal of the page was $200,000.  

The couple's home in Randallstown, Maryland. They have been married for five years

The couple's home in Randallstown, Maryland. They have been married for five years 

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