Two cheerleaders shot after trying to get into the wrong car at H-E-B; suspect in custody
A man has been arrested and charged after two cheerleaders were shot Monday night at an H-E-B parking lot in Elgin after accidentally trying to get into the wrong car, officials said. One cheerleader was treated at the scene, and another was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Officers said they identified Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. as the shooter, took him into custody and charged him with a third-degree felony of deadly conduct.
Police said they received a call Tuesday at 12:15 a.m. that multiple shots had been fired around 1080 East U.S. 290. An H-E-B manager had seen a man, later identified as Rodriguez, fire multiple shots at a Kia before fleeing, an arrest affidavit said.
While officers were responding, they received another call about a shooting in the 800 block of Texas 95 North, about 2 miles from the first call. Police determined that the incidents were related.
Surveillance video from the parking lot of the H-E-B showed Rodriguez's license plate, the affidavit said. It also said Rodriguez was "known by Elgin Police officers from previous law enforcement encounters." Police later found Rodriguez at his Elgin home wearing the same clothes seen in the surveillance video, according to the affidavit.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional or enhanced charges might be filed, according to a police news release.
Heather Roth, a cheerleader with Woodlands Elite Cheer Co., told ABC News that she and three other cheerleaders had completed practice when they went to a carpool lot at the H-E-B.
Roth told ABC News that she got out of her friend's car and opened the door to a car she thought was her own, but the shooting suspect was in the passenger seat.
Roth said she went back to her friend's vehicle, and the shooter approached, according to ABC News. Roth said she rolled down the window to apologize, and the shooter opened fire on the teens.
On Tuesday evening, Woodlands Elite confirmed the incident on its Facebook page and asked for prayers for the victims, their families and their friends.
"4 of our girls were involved in a horrific incident on their way home after practice last night," Woodlands Elite wrote. "Please keep these girls and our WE cheer family in your thoughts and prayers. WE appreciate our cheer community."
According to a GoFundMe page organized by the Woodlands Elite Generals cheerleading team, the cheerleader in critical condition is Payton Washington. The GoFundMe page states that she's in stable condition in the intensive care unit.
Additional information provided by Natalie Neysa Alund of USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas cheerleaders shot after trying to enter the wrong car at H-E-B
