T
The Daily Insight

Payton Washington GoFundMe raises more than $60,000 after Woodlands Elite cheerleader is shot

Author

Samuel Coleman

Published Jan 04, 2026

Payton Washington, a Texas team promoter, was supposedly basically harmed on Tuesday, April 18, after a shooter open-terminated on four individuals from Forests’ world class serious cheerleading group. The fierce episode purportedly unfurled after one of the competitors erroneously attempted to get into some unacceptable vehicle that she accepted to be her own after training.

According to the New York Post, no less than two individuals from the Forests First class Cheer Organization were injured, including Payton Washington, who supported serious wounds after a shooter open-terminated in the parking garage of supermarket chain H-E-B in Elgin.

Following the grievous occurrence, Forests World class Cheer Organization sent off a GoFundMe to assist with the clinical costs of Payton Washington, who was shot two times during the episode.

The pledge drive page, which has raised more than $60,000, said that Washington was steady however was still in the ICU. In an Instagram live Tuesday night, a mentor for the cheerleading organization point by point the wounds supported by Washington, who purportedly endured harm to various organs and had her spleen eliminated.

According to ABC News, on Tuesday, four team promoters, including Payton Washington, drove from the Round Rock region to Forests World class Cheer Organization in Oak Edge for training. The colleagues who carpooled together were driving back to Elgin – their meetup point – when the episode unfurled.

Not long after training, one of the individuals from the group, Heather Roth, purportedly escaped her companion’s vehicle and made the way for a vehicle she accepted to be her own however found one more man situated in the front seat.

Roth said after finding one more man in the vehicle, she promptly scrambled out of the vehicle and got once again into the companion’s vehicle. Minutes after the fact, a man from the other vehicle purportedly moved toward their vehicle and shot at them on numerous occasions after they were sorry for getting into some unacceptable vehicle. The attacker then, at that point, ran away from the area.

As per specialists, Roth, who experienced a brush wound, was treated at the scene, yet her colleague, Payton Washington, who was shot two times in the leg and back, must be traveled to a close by clinic in basic condition.

Following the episode, Forests World class Cheer Organization co-proprietor Lynne Shearer uncovered that Washington, who was born with one lung, was a tough contender and warrior who succeeded in her picked field

“She in a real sense was born with one lung, so all along as a child, she wasn’t even expected to make due, not to mention succeed in sports, so she’s outperformed a ton of things as of now. She’s in a real sense a symbol in the realm of elite player team promoters. All in all, certainly at our exercise center, yet in a real sense all over the country she has such countless young children admire her.”
Payton Washington supposedly procured a grant to join Baylor College’s tumble and gymnastics crew after secondary school graduation. According to ABC News, the lead trainer of the college, Felecia Mulkey, visited Washington in the clinic after the occurrence.

She was born a fighter!! Please consider donating and helping this 5 STAR General on her way to a full and speedy recovery!! Our prayers are with y💫u Payton, and the rest of your @WEGenerals family!! 🙏🏼❤️

Payton Washington's Medical Expenses

— World Cup Shooting Stars (@ShootingStarsWC) April 18, 2023


In a proclamation to Observer News, Mulkey mourned the episode that fundamentally harmed the star competitor:

“Payton is areas of strength for a woman; on the off chance that you know her, you know that about her. I have presumably she will get past this. She’s an astounding competitor however a superior human, and that is the reason she’s a piece of our Baylor family. My requests are with Payton and her colleagues, who were associated with the previous evening’s appalling occasion. I realize mental injuries additionally leave scars. We need to lift up the competitors and their families during this troublesome time. We love Payton, and we wish her well as she recuperates.”
On Tuesday, Elgin police captured the supposed shooter, 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., and accused him of deadly lead. In a comparative occurrence last week, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot subsequent to thumping on some unacceptable entryway in Kansas.