Man shoots, kills woman he misidentified, Michigan cops say. ‘Could have been anyone’

Ciera Wells was driving to buy fruit at the grocery store with her mom and 11-year-old sister when they heard gunshots, according to local Michigan news reports.

“I ducked down,” Wells’ mother, Yquirra Wells, told WJBK while recalling the fatal shooting. “That’s when Ciera said, ‘Mom, I’ve been shot.’”

Detroit police confirmed Wells, 20, was shot as she was driving, which then caused her to crash into a tree in eastern Detroit.

Responding officers found her “unresponsive in the driver’s seat” just before 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 21 in the 14700 block of Maddelein Street, WDIV reported. Authorities found a gunshot wound on her back, and she died at a nearby hospital.

“This was random and unjustified,” her family said in a GoFundMe, adding that Wells had just turned 20.

Police say she was shot by someone who had misidentified her as someone else because her car was a similar make and color as his intended target, WDIV reported.

“There was an incident that occurred prior in the day involving a vehicle similar, nothing to do with our victims, and our offender, for whatever reason decided to get retribution for that incident with a use of a high-powered rifle,” Detroit Police Cmdr. Michael McGinnis told WJBK. “That could have been anyone.”

Marion Johnson, 19, has been charged with “one count of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder, and three counts of felony firearm in the deadly shooting,” police said on March 23.

Johnson was booked into jail and has a court appearance scheduled for April 7.

This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Man shoots, kills woman he misidentified, Michigan cops say. ‘Could have been anyone’."