NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Newly-released video shows a fight between former best friends that ended in gunfire — and an attempted murder arrest.
Authorities arrested Litvinochy Erick Hermantin, 21, a few weeks after the Sept. 7 shooting near the 1800 block of Northeast 169th Street.
The victim told police that he had known Hermantin since the eighth grade and said the two had been like brothers for about six years before their relationship eventually fell apart.
According to an arrest report, the victim told detectives that after having a fallout with Hermantin in January 2023, the suspect began sending him threatening messages, leading to increasing tension between the former friends.
On the evening of Sept. 6, police said the victim began receiving more threatening messages from Hermantin via Instagram.
According to the victim, Hermantin, who was 20 years old at the time of the incident, demanded a fight, first asking him to meet at Greynolds Park. However, when the victim declined, Hermantin instructed him to come to his apartment complex near the 1600 block of Northeast 18th Avenue.
Around 5 a.m. on Sept. 7, authorities said the victim drove to Hermantin’s apartment, where he remained in his car while Hermantin stood on the sidewalk.
Video evidence provided to detectives by the victim showed Hermantin holding a gun in his right hand while recording himself with a cellphone in his left hand, the report stated.
Police said the victim, who also recorded the encounter on his cellphone, was heard repeatedly telling Hermantin to put down the gun and fight him “like a man.”
As the confrontation continued, authorities said Hermantin was seen on the victim’s cellphone video footage approaching the victim’s vehicle while holding the gun.
At one point, police said Hermantin retreated to the sidewalk and fired a single shot toward the victim. The bullet struck the victim in the left thigh, and in the video, the victim can be heard stating that he had been shot and needed to go to the hospital, according to investigators.
Police said despite being shot, the victim drove himself home thinking he could treat the injury on his own. After several hours, around 8 a.m., authorities said the victim contacted a friend to take him to the hospital, where medical staff treated his gunshot wound.
Officers later arrested Hermantin.
Hermantin is facing one count each of attempted murder with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, illegal use of a firearm while committing a felony, illegally discharging a firearm while outdoors in a recreational or residential area and illegally carrying a concealed weapon.