TikTok influencer shot and 'almost murdered' by her ex-stepdad who told her 'I'm going to kill you'
A social media star was almost killed by her ex-stepdad, who has now been charged with attempted murder.
Eixchel Berroteran, who is known as Eixchelb to her 4.3 million TikTok and 650,000 Instagram followers, explained to her fans what had happened in a post she uploaded yesterday (Tuesday August 27).
In the caption, she wrote in Spanish: "Only God knows why I'm still here and I ask him to give me the strength to move on and that at some point he can heal my heart.” The post included photos and videos of her bloodied hand and the other injuries she suffered in the incident.
Berroteran, who is originally from Venezuela, was injured by her mother’s former husband, Luis Damas, when he allegedly entered her bedroom and told her ‘I’m going to kill you’ before shooting at her.
According to the arrest report, 64-year-old Damas was married to Berroteran's mother, who has not been named, for 13 years but the pair have been separated for seven months. He is said to blame his former step-daughter for the breakdown of the relationship.
On Tuesday August 21 Damas went to the apartment where his ex-wife and Berroteran were, in Miami, United States, and knocked on the door, the report said, as reported by NBC Miama. Berroteran’s mum was in the apartment with a friend and told Damas she'd contact him later but a couple hours later, when the friend was leaving, Damas was still in the hallway outside the apartment.
Damas and his ex-wife started to argue, with Damas started yelling and asking where Berroteran was, accusing her of being “the reason they could not be together," the report said.
He then pushed his former spouse back into the apartment and pulled out a gun, saying he was going to kill Berroteran, the report continued. He went into the bedroom where Berroteran was and pointed the gun at her, telling her ‘I'm going to kill you’. She jumped off the bed and tried to hide under the bed, but he fired one shot in her direction. The shot missed her.
"I threw myself on the floor asking him to please not do anything, with the intention of getting under the bed, but I was very short and I decided to crawl towards him screaming for him to stop and at that moment I heard the shot that left me stunned; but my mum, who was already behind him, wrestled him so the shot didn’t hit me," Berroteran wrote on Instagram.
She continued: “That night. . . the worst of my entire Life, God gave me another chance. When missing the shot by INCHES. . . I was stunned, in shock and with fear to think that those would be my last moments of life.”
The assault of the pair continued as Damas started to bite his ex-wife and she then hit him with a wine bottle, the report said.
"He bit my mom and pulled my hair very hard, we both screamed for help but until that moment no one listened, he kept insisting on shooting me and between the two of us we grabbed his hand where he held the gun and he always wanted to point it at me," Berroteran wrote online.
Her mum pleaded with her estranged partner to calm down and he started to but kept a hold of Berroteran by her hair and placed the gun under his thigh while sitting on the sofa, the report said.
Damas agreed to sit and talk about the incident, and then demanded his ex-wife help him clean up the scene in the apartment. Damas then left. The next day, the pair went to hospital to seek medical attention for their injuries and contacted the police.
Berroteran’s mum later told investigators that they didn't contact police right away because Damas "threatened them that if police was contacted, he would have them killed by hitmen that he knew," the report said.
"There are no words to describe the terror, pain, trauma, anxiety and panic attacks this has caused us," Berroteran wrote on Instagram.
Damas has since been arrested on charges including attempted murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, burglary with assault or battery, attempted tampering with physical evidence, false imprisonment, and felony battery.
He appeared in court on Saturday (August 24), where he was ordered held without bond.
"Today I can tell you that trauma hurts more than physical injuries, and that I really don't know how I will ever overcome this nightmare," Berroteran also wrote online. "I ask that you pray a lot for us and that justice is served. On my part I promise you that when I manage to heal even just a little . . . I will become the voice of all the people who have been victims of abuse, abuse and in this case, almost murdered."