Police say the pair returned minutes after being removed from Myst Hookah + Ultra Lounge and opened fire on patrons sitting outside.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Police say two people have been charged with capital murder after they were thrown out of a Northwest Side hookah lounge, returned in a car within minutes and opened fire on the patio, killing two men during the early hours of Feb. 18.

Authorities identified the defendants as Joseph Anthony Amador, 34, and Lauren Tayler Machado-Juarez, 35. Investigators said the shooting began with a disturbance inside Myst Hookah + Ultra Lounge and quickly turned into a double homicide outside the business in the 4500 block of North Loop 1604 West. The case drew broad attention in San Antonio because the victims appeared to be patrons caught in the gunfire, and because police said the suspects were located within two days and booked on one of the most serious charges under Texas law.

Police said officers were sent to the lounge at about 1:24 a.m. Wednesday after reports of gunfire. By the time they arrived, two men had been shot and were later pronounced dead. Investigators said the violence started shortly before that when Amador and Machado-Juarez were inside the lounge and involved in an argument or fight. Security personnel removed them from the business, according to witness accounts described in arrest records and later police summaries. Officers said the pair then got into a Ford Fusion and left the immediate area. A short time later, the car came back toward the club with its lights off, police said. Investigators allege Machado-Juarez was driving while Amador rode in the passenger seat and fired toward people gathered on the outdoor patio. Witnesses reported hearing a burst of shots. One witness later said the scene changed in an instant, adding that panic set in after people realized two bodies were on the ground.

The two men killed were identified as Derek Dashaun Brown, 27, and Kyung Lee, 50. Police said both died at the scene. Authorities have not publicly said that either victim took part in the earlier dispute inside the lounge, and local reporting indicated the men were among the people outside when the shots were fired. Investigators said witnesses described roughly 20 shots. Arrest affidavits cited by local television stations said the car circled the area and lined up with the patio before the gunfire. Police later tied the vehicle to its owner and continued surveillance as detectives worked to identify who had been in the car that night. By Friday, officers said they saw the suspects come out of an apartment and get into the same vehicle. They were then taken into custody. A handgun was recovered from the car, according to local reports that cited investigators. Court and jail records reviewed by local outlets showed both defendants were booked into the Bexar County jail. At least one report said Amador also faced an unrelated driving while intoxicated allegation at the time of his arrest.

The shooting unfolded at a business near Northwest Military Highway in a commercial area on San Antonio’s Northwest Side, a busy stretch of the city where late-night bars and lounges draw large weekend and midweek crowds. Myst Hookah + Ultra Lounge became the center of a homicide investigation within hours, with police tape closing off part of the shopping center while officers marked shell casings and interviewed witnesses. Early reports from the scene described a drive-by attack rather than a confrontation that stayed inside the business. That distinction mattered to investigators because it suggested the suspects left, had time to move away from the property and then came back. In Texas, prosecutors can pursue capital murder when more than one person is killed during the same criminal episode. That is the charge police announced after the arrests. The language used by investigators also signaled that officers believed the attack was intentional, even though public records released so far do not fully explain whether the victims were targeted specifically or were struck while sitting outside during the return gunfire.

In the days after the shooting, investigators from multiple San Antonio Police Department units worked the case, according to local coverage that described homicide detectives coordinating with covert and surveillance teams. Police said they traced the Ford Fusion and used that lead to find the suspects. Authorities have not publicly detailed the ballistic evidence, whether the recovered handgun has been matched to shell casings from the scene, or whether surveillance video from nearby businesses captured the car’s movements in full. They also have not released a fuller account of what happened inside the lounge before security intervened. Those unknowns remain important because they may shape how prosecutors describe motive and planning if the case moves toward indictment. For now, the public record points to a short sequence: an argument inside the lounge, removal by security, a return by car within about five minutes and gunfire aimed toward the patio. The speed of that timeline, combined with the number of shots witnesses described, is likely to remain central to the prosecution’s theory.

Family grief and community shock have been part of the story as the victims’ names became public. Brown was identified by authorities the day after the shooting, and Lee was identified soon after. Local outlets reported community fundraising efforts tied to funeral costs and support for surviving relatives. The lounge also responded publicly after the shooting, offering condolences and saying it would close for several days. Reports from San Antonio described the business promising added security steps before reopening. Those steps have not altered the criminal case, but they reflect the wider effect of the shooting on a nightlife corridor where businesses depend on customers feeling safe. For police, the next major steps are likely to include presenting the case to prosecutors, gathering final forensic results and preparing for bond and court hearings in Bexar County. Capital murder charges do not mean a conviction is certain, and defense lawyers will have the chance to challenge the allegations, the affidavits and the evidence used to identify each suspect’s role. Still, as of March 18, 2026, both defendants remained publicly tied to the case through the charges announced by police.

The scene described by witnesses remains one of the most striking parts of the case. Patrons had been socializing outside when the shooting started, and several local interviews captured the confusion of people trying to understand what they were hearing before they saw the aftermath. One witness said the sound of shots did not register at first, then people began to panic as they turned and saw victims on the ground. That account matched the broad outline given by police, who said the attack happened quickly and ended before officers reached the shopping center. By the end of the week, investigators said the suspects had been found, but many parts of the case were still developing. Police had not publicly laid out a complete motive beyond the dispute and removal from the lounge, and they had not said whether additional charges could follow. What is clear is that a brief late-night conflict at a private business turned into a fatal public shooting that left two men dead, two people jailed and a San Antonio homicide case moving into the court system.

The case stood with two capital murder defendants in custody as of March 18, 2026, and the next key milestone is expected to come in Bexar County court as hearings, charging documents and further investigative records become public.