Two women were hospitalized after a confrontation outside a ceviche bar, authorities said.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Three women were saying goodbye outside a Homestead restaurant when a stranger in a black Tesla drove up, exchanged words with them and fired two shots, hitting two women, police said.
The April 17 shooting outside Dr. Limon Ceviche Bar left two women hospitalized in stable condition and led to the arrest of 34-year-old Samantha Renee Morales. Police said the women did not know Morales before she pulled up near them in the Homestead Pavilion shopping plaza. The encounter, as described in the arrest report, lasted only moments before gunfire broke out.
The victims had just finished a night at the restaurant when they gathered outside at 2508 NE 10th Court. The setting was ordinary, according to the police account: three women near the restaurant, saying their goodbyes in a commercial plaza. Then Morales arrived in a black Tesla. Investigators said she spoke first, asking the women whether they were good. One woman answered that they were and asked Morales the same question. Police said Morales responded with an insult and told the women it looked as if they had a problem. A witness said Morales opened the car door and asked, “What are you gonna do about it?”
The warning came before the shots, according to investigators. Police said a witness told the women to get away because Morales had a gun. The women confronted Morales verbally, and the situation escalated. Investigators said Morales fired two rounds, striking two members of the group. A third woman moved toward Morales and tried to knock the gun away, police said. The struggle continued until officers arrived and separated Morales from the women. Officials have not publicly identified the victims or said which of the women tried to disarm Morales. The exact injuries were not detailed in early reports.
The shooting turned the edge of the restaurant plaza into a crime scene. Homestead police said officers responded to the 2400 block of Northeast 10th Court around the time reports of gunfire came in. Emergency crews took the wounded women to a hospital. The women were later reported to be stable, a key detail in a case that still carries serious felony charges because police said a firearm was used against three people. Morales was arrested at the scene after officers completed their first investigation. Police did not report that the women had followed Morales or that they had known her from inside the restaurant.
Morales gave investigators a limited account after she was read her rights, police said. She told officers she did not remember the incident, except that she was “fighting for her life.” Police also said she admitted drinking three alcoholic beverages before the shooting. Investigators have not publicly said whether alcohol testing was performed, whether Morales was inside the restaurant before the encounter or what she was doing in the plaza before driving up to the women. Those unanswered questions are likely to remain part of the case as lawyers review evidence and witness statements.
The charges filed against Morales include two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. She also faces a firearm-use count and two misdemeanor charges. A judge ordered her held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center during a Monday hearing. The no-bond order means Morales remained jailed while the case moved toward arraignment. Her next court date was listed for the Wednesday after the bond hearing, and arraignment was scheduled for May 18. The public reports did not identify an attorney speaking on her behalf.
Police and court records now frame the case around three women, one gun and a brief exchange between strangers. The arrest report does not describe a long dispute, a prior threat or a known motive. It instead describes a question from a car window, an answer from one of the women, a threatening reply and shots fired outside a restaurant where people had gathered for dinner. The public record also leaves open whether additional surveillance video or physical evidence will sharpen the timeline beyond the witness statements already described.
Morales remained jailed as the two wounded women recovered from their injuries. The case was set to continue in court, with arraignment scheduled for May 18.
Author note: Last updated May 17, 2026.