ELGIN, Texas - A Texas high school cheerleader is recovering in the hospital after being shot in Elgin. This comes just before the biggest All-Star Cheerleading competition in the world.
Those close to the cheerleader said it was supposed to be a big weekend for her, but instead she won’t be able to participate because of a senseless act of violence.On Monday, April 17, Payton Washington and her three teammates were returning home from an out-of-town cheer practice at Woodlands Elite in the Woodlands.
They had left their cars in the parking lot of the H-E-B on East 290 in Elgin. A source close to the investigation told FOX 7 that a cheerleadermistakenly tried to get in the wrong car, realized what she did, and turned to walk away to her actual car.Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, was in the other car with a gun, and he fired multiple shots at the girls."It was a harrowing night for all four of those girls," Woodlands Elite Cheer Owner Lynne Shearer said.One cheerleader was treated and released at the scene.
Payton was airlifted to a local hospital and is in the ICU. Family and friends have no doubt she’ll recover."She literally was born with one lung, so she from the very beginning as a baby, she wasn’t even expected to survive, let alone, excel in athletics, so she’s surpassed a lot of things already," Shearer said.Shearer described Payton as one of the strongest athletes to ever come through her gym."She’s literally an icon in the world of all-star cheerleader.