THE WOODLANDS, Texas — A vigil was held Tuesday night for a cheerleader who's in the ICU after being shot early that morning on her way home from practice at a gym near The Woodlands.
Payton Washington, 18, was shot in an HEB parking lot in Elgin and flown to a hospital in Austin.
Another cheerleader, Heather, who was grazed in the leg by a bullet in the same incident spoke at the vigil, telling her teammates what happened.
She said they had just pulled into an HEB parking lot on 290 in Elgin where they had left their cars so they could carpool to the Houston area.
Heather said she thought she was getting into her own car when she saw a man in the passenger seat.
"He pulled out a gun and just started shooting at all of us," Heather said.
Elgin police have arrested Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. and charged him with deadly conduct in the incident.
Washington's coach, Kevin Tonner, rushed to be at her bedside. Tonner said Washington had already beaten the odds before this incident.
"She’s a special kid. Not a lot of people know this about her, but she’s only got one lung and she’s already working harder than everyone else most of the time," Tonner said.
The cheer community has already raised more than $50,000 through a GoFundMe for her.
"She's a mentor and a role model to so many kids in this industry," said Lynne Shearer, the owner of Woodlands Elite Cheer Co. "Everybody knows her, everybody's praying for her."
Washington's team is headed to the world championships in Orlando this weekend without her. It's the only title her coaches said she hasn't won.