Teenage cheerleaders shot in Texas parking lot after entering wrong car

Oak Ridge, Texas - Two teenaged cheerleaders were shot in a grocery store parking lot outside Austin when one of them accidentally tried to get in the wrong car.

High-school senior Payton Washington was shot in a grocery store parking lot in Texas while returning from cheer practice.
High-school senior Payton Washington was shot in a grocery store parking lot in Texas while returning from cheer practice.  © Screenshot/GoFundMe/Woodlands Elite Generals

Four members of the Woodlands Elite Cheer Company were in the parking lot of an H-E-B grocery store in Elgin on their normal commute from Round Rock to Oak Ridge and back.

Just after midnight, one of the cheerleaders named Heather Roth said she got out of her friend's car and tried to enter a vehicle she mistook for her own. She was surprised to see a man sitting in the passenger's seat and got back in her friend's car, ABC reported.

When Roth saw the man approaching them, she rolled down the window to apologize for mistaking the car for her own. The man then pulled out a gun and began to fire.

Roth reportedly suffered a graze wound. Her teammate Payton Washington, who was shot in the leg and back, was flown to the hospital in critical condition.

The suspected shooter, 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., has been arrested on charges of deadly conduct.

Cheer community rallies around Payton Washington

The shooting of Payton Washington and Heather Roth has sparked renewed cries for gun reform.
The shooting of Payton Washington and Heather Roth has sparked renewed cries for gun reform.  © REUTERS

One of the cheerleaders' coaches said on Instagram live on Tuesday that Washington had experienced damage to multiple organs and had her spleen removed, with more surgeries expected during the week.

Woodlands Elite Cheer Company co-owner Lynne Shearer told ABC that Washington was already competing with just one lung.

The Round Rock ISD senior is slated to attend Baylor University and compete on its Acrobatic and Tumbling team next season.

As Washington recovers in hospital, her team is set to compete in the Cheerleading Worlds in Orlando – an experience Washington was looking forward to as a pinnacle of her cheer career to date.

"It's the only title (Washington) hasn't won in All-Star Cheer. She's literally won everything there is to win in this sport except for a world title, and this was her last chance to do that," Shearer said. "Payton is the ultimate competitor. She would not want her team not to go and not be at this championship and not compete. So we will be there, and we will compete."

The cheer company has set up a GoFundMe to raise money to help cover Washington's medical expenses.

Cover photo: Screenshot/GoFundMe/Woodlands Elite Generals

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