A Florida man has been arrested after allegedly shooting his estranged wife and stepdaughter, a social media star. Luis Damas, 64, faces accusations of attempted murder, aggravated violence with a firearm, burglary, and false imprisonment.
Eixchel Berroteran, known as Eixchelb to her 4.3 million TikTok followers and 711,000 Instagram followers, described the horrific shooting, saying Damas, who had been married to her mother for 13 years before separating about seven months ago, forced his way into their Miami apartment around 10 p.m. Aug. 21 and fired one shot.
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“God gave me another chance on the worst night of my life.” On her Instagram profile, she said in Spanish, “When the shot missed by centimeters, I was stunned, in shock, and afraid that those would be my last moments of life.”
A probable cause arrest affidavit provided by Law&Crime does not identify Berroteran but recounts the events that occurred, which closely match her version. Damas’ wife told detectives she was hanging out with a friend when she heard a knock at the door.
She peeked through the peephole to see Damas standing outside. She opened the door, asked Damas why he was there, and informed him that she would call him later. According to the statement, she walked her buddy out of the residence a short while later, but Damas remained. She and Damas started arguing.
He allegedly wanted to know where Berroteran was and said that she “was the reason they could not be together.” Damas allegedly shoved his estranged wife into the flat and drew a revolver. Damas allegedly walked into Berroteran’s bedroom and pointed a gun at her. She got out of bed and attempted to hide under the mattress.
“That’s when the defendant stated, ‘I’m going to kill you’ and fired one shot,” the police officer wrote.
According to police, Damas’ wife tackled him in an attempt to grab the gun away. Berroteran wrote in her article that she jumped in to help, claiming that the “love we have for each other gave us the strength to control the situation.”
Damas began biting his wife, prompting her to grab a wine bottle and slap him, according to the affidavit. The mother and daughter were able to calm Damas down sufficiently for him to put his gun away, but he allegedly grabbed his wife’s hair and forced her to stay on the couch.
He then ordered his wife to clean up the incident, according to the complaint. After disposing of the evidence, she guided him out the door, reassuring him that she would not contact the police. She later informed police that she did not contact 911 right away because he threatened to “have them killed by the hitmen he knew,” according to the affidavit. They called the cops the next day after visiting the hospital to treat Berroteran’s injuries.
She uploaded photographs on social media of her bloodied hand and bruises all over her body. “There are no words to describe the terror, pain, trauma, anxiety and panic attacks that this has caused us,” she posted on Facebook. “Only God knows why I am still here and I ask him to give me the strength to move forward so that at some point I can heal my heart.”
Damas was arrested and is currently being held in jail without bond.