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April 19 (UPI) -- Police in Texas arrested a man who allegedly shot at two high school cheerleaders after one of them reportedly tried to get into the wrong car. Elgin Police said Tuesday that Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, was arrested and charged with deadly conduct for the shooting.
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Heather Roth, said she got out of a friend's car in the parking lot of an H-E-B supermarket and opened the door to what she believed was her own car when she saw a man sitting in the passenger seat.
Roth said she panicked and returned to her friend's vehicle, where she apologized and explained she thought she was attempting to enter her own car as the man approached them.
She said the man then pulled out a gun and began shooting.
Police said that Roth was treated at the scene, while her friend, Payton Washington was shot in the leg and back and was airlifted to a nearby hospital where she remained in critical condition.
Roth and Washington are teammates on for the Woodlands Elite Cheer Company, which said two of their other teammates were also at the scene.
"It was a harrowing night for all four of those girls," Woodlands Elite Cheer Owner Lynne Shearer told Fox 7 Austin.
Washington had already committed to the Baylor Acrobatics and Tumbling team in the fall. The university said it believed she would make a recovery.
"Payton is a strong young lady, if you know her, you know that about her," Baylor Acrobatics and Tumbling Coach Felecia Mulkey. "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."
