On April 18, a tragic incident occurred where someone shot two Texas cheerleaders after practice. According to authorities, one of the cheerleaders mistakenly got into the wrong car in an H-E-B supermarket parking lot.
Authorities arrested Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. for allegedly shooting the two teens and charged him with deadly conduct.
The incident occurred just after midnight, and officers responding to the scene found two people in a vehicle whose bullets had struck. Medical personnel treated and released one of the victims at the scene, while the other victim was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.
Heather Roth, a cheerleader with the Woodlands Elite Cheer Co., recounted the events leading up to the shooting. She and three other cheerleaders had finished practice when they went to a carpool lot. Roth exited her friend’s car and opened the door to a car she thought was her own, but a man was in the passenger seat. When the man approached their vehicle, Roth said she rolled down the window to apologize, and the man started shooting.
Payton Washington, one of the injured cheerleaders, had accepted a position on Baylor University’s acrobatics and tumbling team. Baylor’s acrobatics and tumbling coach, Fee Mulkey, expressed her support for the young athlete and her teammates.
This tragic incident reminds us to always be vigilant and aware of one’s surroundings, especially when entering unfamiliar vehicles.
cc: BBC
