A Coweta family escaped unharmed after a stranger from Decatur allegedly showed up at their back door and fired shots into the home before attempting to set it on fire.

Wednesday evening, Lindsey Deeanne Wells arrived at the residence of 90 Corn Crib Drive, mistaking it for the home of her cousin, investigators say. Inside the house, two children were home alone watching television, according to their mother, Jenny King.



“They were both sitting on the couch when suddenly they saw this strange woman pacing back and forth on the back porch,” King said. “When the woman peered through the window, the kids ran behind a wall. That’s when she began to shoot.”



After allegedly firing two rounds from a .380 handgun into the residence, Wells then attempted to use lighter fluid to set the home on fire, according to Chief Deputy James Yarbrough with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.



The fire caused damage to the side of the home, but the flames ultimately fizzled out, according to investigators.

King had attempted to call her children that evening, but received no response. As she was trying to get home, she received a call from a 911 operator, alerting her that a shooting had taken place at her residence.



“(The operator) asked how far away from home I was,” King recalled. “That was a long 15-minute ride home.”



Wells reportedly fled the scene in her car and ended up at the Waffle House on 1363 South Highway 29 where employees noticed a woman acting strangely and called 911. Deputies arrived and were able to take Wells into custody without incident.



Inside her car, investigators allegedly uncovered several bottles of lighter fluid and matches. Wells admitted to shooting at the house and setting it on fire, according to Yarbrough.



When asked why, Wells allegedly told deputies she had been reading tarot cards, practicing witchcraft and went to the home to kill her cousin. However, Wells got the street names mixed up and arrived at the wrong address in the Corn Crib neighborhood.



The bullets allegedly hit the sofa where the two King children had been sitting before they ran behind the wall and called 911.



“I’m just glad they got off that sofa,” King said. “The Lord was certainly watching over us.”



Wells was taken to Piedmont Newnan Hospital before being cleared to be transported to the Coweta County Jail.



Wells, 36, is now facing two charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and arson. She remains in jail after being denied bail by Magistrate Judge Robert Stokely following a hearing Thursday.





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Clay Neely: clay@newnan.com, @clayneely

