Texas Cheerleaders Shooting Suspect Arrested; 1 Critically Injured

A shooting in Elgin, Texas targeted four Texas cheerleaders after one of them got into the wrong car. Police have arrested the suspect who critically injured one of them and hit another.

Police officers in Elgin responded to reports of multiple shots being fired in the parking lot of a local H-E-B supermarket around 12:15 a.m. local time. A vehicle was shot, with two of its occupants getting hit, according to the police report.

Payton Washington, cheerleader of the Round Rock Independent School District, sustained gunshot wounds in the back and leg, was transported by helicopter to a hospital, according to NBC News. Her father confirmed she is now in stable condition.

Meanwhile, the suspect, identified as Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, fled the scene immediately after the shooting happened but was arrested in his home, court documents say. He has already been charged with deadly conduct, which is a third-degree felony.

Texas Cheerleaders Were Going Home From Practice When Shooting Happened

Lynn Shearer, the owner of Woodlands Elite Cheer Co., spoke with NBC's Austin affiliate, KXAN. She stated that the cheerleaders usually carpooled from the Austin area to her gym. That day, the group was already on their way home and just stopped by at the local supermarket because that was where some of the other cheerleaders parked their own cars.

Shearer told the local news channel that one of the girls accidentally got inside the wrong car.

"A guy got out and they saw that he had a gun. And so they tried to speed off and he shot his gun, like five times or so into the car," she said.

One of the four cheerleaders who were shot at, Heather Roth, spoke on Instagram Live and stated that when she got out of her friend's car after carpooling, she went to a car she thought belonged to her and opened the door. However, she stated that there was a man in the passenger's seat and she quickly got out and back to her friend's car.

The man then approached the vehicle, and Roth started to apologize when the man started shooting at the car, with the four Texas cheerleaders inside.

GoFundMe Set Up For Critically Injured Texas Cheerleader Payton Washington

According to ABC News, Washington had been accepted to Baylor University and its acrobatics and tumbling team, and the university's coach spoke highly of her.

"Payton is a strong young lady; if you know her, you know that about her. I have no doubt she's going to get through this," said Baylor acrobatics and tumbling coach Fee Mulkey.

She was known as a role model to many and messages of support have poured all over social media. A GoFundMe page was organized by the Woodlands Elite Generals to help raise money to cover her hospital costs had raised more than $60,800 as of early Wednesday.

The GoFundMe Page noted that the cheerleader was "stable in the ICU and will have a long road to recovery."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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