Shanteari Weems, the 50-year-old owner of the Lil Kidz Kastle daycare center in Owings Mills, Maryland, shot her husband, James Weems Jr., at a Washington D.C. hotel on July 21, 2022, after learning he was facing multiple se**xual abuse allegations involving children at the facility where he worked as a driver. Following the initial accusation that led to the closure of the daycare in July 2022, a second allegation from a victim's parent drove Shanteari to confront her husband, a former Baltimore police officer, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. During the confrontation, Shanteari Weems shot James Weems twice—once in the neck and once in the leg, shattering his femur—later stating that she "snapped" after facing her husband's calm denial and that she felt compelled to act to protect children. While her attorney initially argued the shooting was in self-defense, Shanteari Weems pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and one count of carrying a pistol without a license and was sentenced to four years in prison in February 2023. James Weems Jr. was later convicted in 2024 for the sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl at the daycare and was sentenced to life in prison. Shanteari, who filed for divorce and changed her last name to Young, was released to a halfway house in June 2025.