Coach: Cheerleaders coping 'best that they can' after shooting

Coach: Cheerleaders coping ‘best that they can’ after shooting

A man shot and wounded two cheerleaders outside a Texas supermarket
Their coach said one of the girls has already returned to competing
Coach Lynne Shearer: We will compete without her and do it for her

Updated: Apr 20, 2023 / 11:48 AM CDT

ELGIN, Texas (NewsNation) — A man shot and wounded two cheerleaders outside a Texas supermarket after one of them said she mistakenly got into his car, thinking it was her own.

Their coach and Woodlands Elite Cheer Co. owner Lynne Shearer told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield one of the girls has already returned to competing, while the other FaceTimed from an intensive care unit to watch the team.

“She did an amazing job,” Shearer said. “They’re coping the best that they can. Our focus right now is trying to get them to this weekend. It’s a huge competition for us.”

The shooting happened in Elgin, east of Austin, in a grocery store parking lot that serves as a carpool pickup spot for members of the cheer team.

Heather Roth, one of four team members transferring rides in the lot after practice, said she got out of her friend’s car and into a car she thought was hers, but there was a stranger in the passenger seat, KTRK-TV reported.

She said she panicked and got back into her friend’s car, but the man got out of his vehicle and approached. She said she tried to apologize through her friend’s car window, but the man threw up his hands, pulled out a gun and opened fire.

Roth was grazed by a bullet and was treated at the scene, police said. Her teammate Payton Washington, 18, was shot in the leg and back.

In this photo provided by Baylor University, Payton Washington poses in an undated photo wearing Baylor University attire. Washington was one of two cheerleaders shot and wounded by a man in a Texas supermarket parking lot after one of them said she mistakenly got into his car thinking it was her own. (Baylor University via AP) — Payton Washington was one of two cheerleaders shot and wounded by a man in a Texas supermarket parking lot. (Baylor University via AP)

Shearer said the cheer team is headed to the World Championships this weekend.

“It’s a huge competition for us,” Shearer said. “Peyton FaceTimed in and watched her team perform without her, which was very, very difficult. So that was tough for her. She’s the ultimate competitor. So that was a rough moment. But they’re all, we’re all trying to just, you know, move forward.”

The shooting was the latest in a string of recent U.S. shootings apparently sparked by someone showing up at the wrong place.

“It’s heartbreaking for Peyton,” Shearer said. “But we will compete without her and do it for her and hopefully still be able to bring home a title this weekend.”

Roth’s doctors said they do expect she will heal but it will take time. Roth signed with Baylor University for the acrobatics and tumbling program, and she is hoping to compete with them in the fall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.