SAN ANTONIO – We’re hearing from the family of a man who was killed outside a Northside bar last week for the first time.
27-year-old Derek Brown’s mother said her son was a light in the dark.
We’re hearing from the family of a man who was killed outside a Northside bar last week for the first time.
His friends and family are celebrating his life the best way they know how; even if it is sooner than they hoped.
“I woke up to a phone call at 4:30 in the morning that my son got shot,” Derek’s mother, Violeta Mitchell said. “When they said that, I said: ‘no, it can’t be.'”
Derek, who’s better known as Dee, was at the Myst Hookah and Ultra Lounge last week when gunfire rung out.
He and 50-year-old Kyung Lee were shot and killed while outside of the lounge. Both died at the scene and neither of them were involved with the alleged shooters at all.
“I remember that I couldn’t speak no language that anybody could understand,” Violeta said. “I know words were coming out of my mouth, but it was not Spanish, and it was not English.”
34-year-old Joseph Anthony Amador and 35-year-old Lauren Tayler Machado-Juarez were arrested and charged with capital murder on Friday.
Derek’s family said, while they’re heartbroken, those arrests have brought them comfort as they hold on to his memory.
“He was not any type of person that lived a life where he was dodging bullets,” his stepfather Jeremy, said.
“I don’t ever remember seeing Derek angry,” Violeta said. “He loved music. He loved basketball. Most of all, he loved God.”
His family honored him with a celebration he’d love Monday night, a memorial basketball game, before they say their final goodbyes.