Heart Warming Update on Determined Tx Cheerleader Shot In Parking Lot, Payton Washington
The story continues for TX cheerleader Payton Washington who was listed in critical condition after being shot in a Texas parking lot.
As a mother, this story has been particularly weighing on my heart.
It's the horrific story trending across the nation that happened in a Texas parking lot just a few days ago.
Just after midnight on April 18, 2023, competitive cheerleaders Payton Washington and Heather Roth were shot and wounded after Roth mistakenly entered a vehicle she had thought to be hers in an H-E-B supermarket parking lot in Elgin, Texas.
This parking lot was the designated parking lot after training and it has been confirmed Roth getting into someones car was a total accident.
What happened next is just UNIMAGINABLE.
25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. who was in the car Roth thought was hers, proceeded to exit his car with a gun in hand opening fire into the cheerleaders vehicle, hitting the girls with bullets and leaving elite athlete Payton Washington who was completely innocent of the scenerio in critical condition.
Pedro faces a felony count of deadly conduct.
The Texas community and the nation has rallied support for the innocent young girl with a bright future ahead of her.
During surgery, in order to help save her life, Payton has lost her spleen.
Her family offers that Payton is a resilient young lady as she was born with only one lung but continued to persue her sport of competative cheer, starting when she was under 2 years of age. As a senior in high school she was looking forward to attending Baylor University and continuing her cheer career.
As she begins the first steps to recovery, her family, full of faith, offers to the nation their thoughts on the shooter Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. "This young man has to deal with the next call, his own recollection, and reflection of what he’s done and whatever God has for him. That’s a sentence in itself that he has to work through."
It's not a stretch to say Texas has Payton Washington in their hearts.
We will continue to keep you updated on her recovery.
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