Two Texas high school cheerleaders shot in car park after getting into wrong car
Two cheerleaders have been shot and wounded in a Texas supermarket car park after one of them said she mistakenly got into the wrong car thinking it was her own.
The incident is the latest in a string of recent US shootings apparently sparked by someone mistakenly showing up at the wrong place.
The shooting in Elgin, east of Austin, Texas, happened early on Tuesday in a supermarket car park that serves as a carpool pickup spot for members of the Woodlands Elite Cheer Company, team owner Lynne Shearer said.
Heather Roth, one of four team members, said she got out of her friend’s car and into a car she thought was her own, but there was a stranger in the passenger seat, KTRK-TV reported.
She said she panicked and got back into her friend’s car, but the man got out of his vehicle and approached.
Ms Roth said she tried to apologise through her friend's car window, but the man threw up his hands, pulled out a gun and opened fire.
She was grazed by a bullet and was treated at the scene, police said. Her teammate Payton Washington, 18, was shot in the leg and back.
“Payton opens the door, and she starts throwing up blood,” Ms Roth said.
Ms Washington was flown to a hospital in critical condition and doctors had to remove part of her spleen, KTRK-TV reported.
Police arrested a suspect, 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr, who is charged with engaging in deadly conduct.
A store manager said he witnessed the shooting and officers tracked down Rodriguez using car park CCTV that captured his license plate number, according to a probable cause affidavit that police released on Wednesday.
The affidavit didn't indicate whether the footage captured the shooting or what preceded it.
Ms Shearer said Ms Washington, a high school senior from Round Rock, north of Austin, is one of her team's stars and was born with only one lung.
“She’s really a huge face in the all-star cheerleading world,” she said. “She’s a mentor and role model to so many kids in this industry.
"She’s an amazing athlete, amazing kid, so everybody knows her and everybody’s praying for her.”
Ms Washington has committed to competing for Baylor University's acrobatics and tumbling team next year, and her and her Woodlands teammates were set to compete at the The Cheerleading Worlds in Orlando, Florida, this weekend.
Ms Shearer said the team will now be “competing for her.”
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know