MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
One in three women and one in four men have experienced some form of violence by a partner.
In November of 2022, Local 10 News covered the murder of Banner Vidal and the attempted murder of Brittany Springmeyer inside their North Bay Village apartment.
Police said the shooter was Springmeyer’s ex-boyfriend, Jose Arinbar-Camacho.
Close to one year after the shooting, Springmeyer sat down with Local 10 News Crime Specialist Bridgette Matter to speak about her story of survival and living through loss.
In the fall of 2022, Springmeyer and Vidal were in love. They shared an apartment with Springmeyer’s toddler and plans were in the works to take their budding romance to the next level with a proposal -- one that would sadly never come.
On the morning of Nov. 28, the three awoke to gunfire.
“We woke up to someone shooting down the door, screaming,” Springmeyer said.
Police said it was Arinbar-Camacho shooting into the one bedroom apartment. Springmeyer explained in detail the terrifying moments that followed.
“Without hesitation, he immediately shot at me,” she said. “You can see one bullet went in and out of my arm. I was on the phone with police. One bullet went through my phone and the other one went here, so he was aiming for my heart, my lungs, so he wanted to kill me.”
Bullets were flying into the bedroom with her little girl feet away in a crib. She vividly described a struggle between Arinbar-Camacho and Vidal.
“Banner was trying to fight him off, mind you with no weapon, with his bare hands,” she said. “I heard Jose saying, ‘I got you, I got you.’ He was able to shoot him in the chest.”
Springmeyer said she was shot multiple times and watched on helplessly.
“He leaned down to me and he told me that it’s all my fault. ‘It’s all because of you,’” she said. “He walked over to Banner and he said with a big smile on his face, he said ‘he’s gonna die now,’ and he shot him in the head and he walked out and gave himself up.”
Neighbors recorded a chilling confession moments later of Arinbar-Camacho telling police in Spanish, “I shot my ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, I shot my ex-girlfriend too.”
Springmeyer said she had no warning from Arinbar-Camacho. He did not threaten her.
She said the relationship ended amicably and they were co-parenting.
Investigators said Arinbar-Camacho was sulking in anger and planned the attack in secret for days.
Springmeyer was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. A bullet ruptured her diaphragm, and went through her stomach, intestines and kidney. She also suffered a spine fracture and a bullet is still lodged in her hip.
Miraculously, she survived, but the pain of losing Vidal has taken its own toll.
“The best time of my life, the best man I ever had,” she said. “I never had anybody treat me…he took such good care of me and he loved me.”
Springmeyer said he was a hard worker, a recognized drone pilot whose business was taking off.
She called it a love of a lifetime.
Following the shooting, her social media was flooded with stories similar to hers.
“After this, I had a lot of women come to me and tell me their stories of the same thing,” Springmeyer said. “They had an ex or ex-husband that tried to kill them -- tried to hurt them because they didn’t want to be with them.”
“I saw him in his last moments and he was very brave. He tried to protect me and my daughter,” she said.
Springmeyer said Vidal was a remarkable man who chose courage in those last moments.
The case against Arinbar-Camacho is still pending and a trial date has not been set. The state is seeking the death penalty.