James Weems arrest: Wife shoots retired Baltimore officer for allegedly abusing children at her daycare

Weems and his wife, Shanteari (Images via James Weems Facebook/LinkedIn)

On July 22, 50-year-old Shanteari Weems allegedly shot her husband, James Weems, a former Baltimore police officer who she has accused of sexually abusing children at the daycare center she ran in Owings Mills.

NBC reported that at 7:30 pm, officers responded to reports of a shooting in a room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in DC, where they discovered two handguns and a wounded James Weems. Authorities also claimed that Shanteari had left letters of apology for her husband's alleged victims.

Metropolitan Police Department detectives found Weems in the hotel room with gunshot wounds. As per NBC, he was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

Shanteari Weems was arrested near the scene by responding officers on charges of assault with intent to kill with a gun. James was arrested at the hospital on Monday on child abuse related charges.

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Further details about the accusations against James Weems

According to CBS, James Weems was a bus driver for Lil Kidz Daycare center in Owings Mills, Baltimore, for 2 years. His wife, Shanteari, owned the business. The couple had been married for 5 years.

Prior to that, Weems worked at the Baltimore City Police Department since June 1996. He retired in 2005 and continued to work for the department as a contract specialist until 2008.

Newsweek reported that children at the daycare center complained about James Weems to Shanteari, telling her that he had abused them. As per court records, Shanteari reported the accusations to police.

In a press release, Baltimore police stated that they had begun investigating Weems over the past month, but Shanteari claimed that she continued to receive phone calls from concerned parents. Last Thursday, she visited her husband in Washington D.C., where she allegedly shot him.

In their official statement, Baltimore authorities said that the Weems case was a delicate one, as several accusations must be probed. As of now, the daycare center remains closed.

The statement read:

"I can tell you that Baltimore County detectives are currently monitoring the recent developments in Washington D.C. "

It continued:

"Due to the sensitive circumstances leading up to this incident, the Baltimore County Police Department continues to support the families impacted."

In an interview with CBS, Kathy Scherr, a woman who worked near the daycare center, commented on the case. She said:

"It's horrible. You can't imagine what it's like as a parent to turn your child over to a stranger and you hope and you pray that they take care of them the best that they can."

In response to the accusation that Shanteari had carried out vigilante justice, Scherr condemned the act.

She said:

"Everyone knows she shouldn't have taken his life into her own hands, but you didn't have your life upended. Her whole entire business is gone. Her marriage is gone."

She continued:

"Those kids are hurt. She obviously cared about them so who knows if it was one of us what you'd be driven to."

Shanteari Weems will face a preliminary hearing on Friday.