ELGIN, Texas — Payton Washington and three of her cheerleading teammates were shot at after one of them reportedly started to get into the wrong car in the parking lot of an H-E-B in Elgin on April 18.
Two girls, including Washington, were injured.
The Elgin Police Department identified Pedro Rodriguez as the shooter after his license plate was captured on surveillance video at the crime scene, according to an arrest affidavit.
Officers tracked the 25-year-old to his home, where police noted he was wearing the same clothes as shown on surveillance video. He was eventually arrested.
The affidavit added that a manager at the H-E-B said they saw a man shoot multiple times at the car the four girls were in before driving off.
Rodriguez is charged with deadly conduct and is being held at the Bastrop County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Washington's coach from Woodlands Elite Cheer said the girls regularly parked at the H-E-B to carpool to and from Houston.
Washington, 18, is a senior varsity cheerleader at Stony Point High School in Round Rock and is part of Woodlands Elite Cheer.
The cheer company has encouraged everyone to wear purple, her favorite color, this week to honor her.
Washington is set to attend Baylor University in Waco as part of the acrobatics and tumbling team in the fall.
KVUE reached out to the university on Wednesday and was told Washington's future coach, Felecia Mulkey, visited her on Tuesday. The university said although she is making good progress, she still has a long way to go.
In a statement, Mulkey wrote:
“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. She’s an amazing athlete but a better human, and that’s why she’s a part of our Baylor family. My prayers are with Payton and her teammates that were involved in Monday night’s tragic event, I know mental wounds also leave scars. We want to lift up the athletes and their families during this difficult time. We love Payton and we wish her well as she recovers.”
On Tuesday, the Woodlands Elite squad gathered for a vigil, and one of Washington's teammates – Heather, who was inside the car during the incident – detailed the encounter with Rodriguez.
"I was trying to apologize to him for accidentally getting in the wrong car. I didn't get in the car; I just opened the door," she said. "He just threw his hands up, and then he pulled out a gun and he just started shooting at us."
Heather explained it could have been a lot worse, but she is pulling for her teammate to recover as soon as possible.
"Nobody deserves anything like this," she said. "It doesn't matter if any of us were hit or not, that's not something you ever want to have to face and deal with."