A man opened fire on cheerleaders in Texas after one of them tried to open the door of what she believed to be her own vehicle, police and officials said to local media.
• Also read: Black teenager injured by bullets at wrong address: An octogenarian has been charged
This news comes as part of a tragic series of similar events in the United States, where guns are devastating: A black teenager was seriously injured by gunshot last week after knocking on the wrong door of a Missouri home. The suspect pleaded not guilty, according to US media on Wednesday.
In upstate New York, a 20-year-old woman was killed Saturday after being shot after accidentally driving into the driveway of a private home.
Also in Texas, in the small town of Elgin, it’s a misunderstanding that appears to have sparked a disproportionate reaction against four cheerleaders in a supermarket parking lot on Tuesday night.
Heather Roth, one of the four teenage girls, thought she opened the door of her own car and turned it into another vehicle with a man in it.
Armed like many Texas residents, he then approached the young women who were in another car.
“I saw the man coming from the passenger side and rolled down my window to apologize,” Heather Roth told local broadcaster KTRK. “Then he raised his gun and started shooting at us.”
Two of the cheerleaders were shot, one seriously, who had to be flown to a hospital.
The suspected shooter, a 25-year-old man named Pedro Tello Rodriguez, was arrested and charged with murderous conduct, charges that may soon be cleared, Elgin police said.
Cousins of the cheerleaders and often associated with American football and basketball, cheerleading encourages sports teams across the United States, particularly on campus.