Surveillance video helps identify man connected with Texas cheerleader shooting, document says
Editor's note: The video above shows previous reporting surrounding the shooting.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Elgin police used surveillance video to identify the man believed to be connected with Tuesday's shooting that sent a Round Rock ISD student and cheerleader to the hospital, according to criminal complaint documents.
The man was accused of firing shots into a car in the parking lot of an H-E-B, located at 1080 E. U.S. Highway 290 in Elgin. Officers initially responded to the shots fired call around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday.
While at the scene, EPD obtained surveillance footage of the parking lot where the shooting occurred. The surveillance footage displayed a Texas license plate for the suspect, the document states.
The documents also showed there were four young adult women in the vehicle the suspect shot at. Two people were injured in the shooting, police said.
Payton Washington was identified by her father as one of the victim, according to NBC reporting.
Washington’s father told NBC she’s recovering in the intensive care unit at Dell Seton Medical Center after being shot in the back and leg when the gunfire erupted. He said doctors removed her spleen and she’s now stable.
Lynn Shearer, the owner of Woodland’s Elite Cheer Co., said it was four cheerleaders at her gym who were involved in the shooting.
She said Monday night they were returning back to the H-E-B in Elgin, where they parked their cars when one of the girls accidentally tried to get into the wrong car.
“The guy got out and they saw that he had a gun. And so they tried to speed off, and he shot his gun, like five times or so into the car,” Shearer said.
The Elgin Police Department said it took 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. into custody Tuesday.
EPD said Rodriguez Jr. was charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony.
According to officials, he was booked into the Bastrop County jail with a $500,000 bond.
EPD said one person was treated at the scene, and another person was taken to the hospital by helicopter with serious injuries.