Police Investigate Chilling Grindr Attacks in Canberra
In distressing news, ACT Police are investigating two alleged homophobic assaults in Canberra, where gay men were lured via dating apps such as Grindr, and attacked.
These incidents, which took place in Denman Prospect and Red Hill in Canberra, have shocked the community with their brazen and aggressive nature.
Police investigating men who lured victims via Grindr
The first incident occurred on the morning of Tuesday, July 16.
According to police, the victim agreed to meet someone he had connected with on a dating app earlier.
The meeting was arranged at a residence in Denman Prospect. Upon arrival, the man was allegedly ambushed by four individuals outside the house. Despite the assault, the victim managed to escape on his motorbike, although his helmet and gloves were reportedly stolen by the attackers. Fortunately, the man did not require any hospitalisation and was able to provide details and information to local police to assist with the investigation.
Just a few days later, on Saturday July 20, a second attack took place under strikingly similar circumstances.
This time, the victim was lured to an abandoned house in Red Hill in the early hours of the morning. upon arrival, he was allegedly attacked by a group of seven or eight men who lay in waiting for him to arrive at the location.
During the vicious assault, the attackers allegedly shouted homophobic slurs, demanded money from the victim, as they attempted to steal his wallet and keys from him. He managed to escape but was pursued by the group, who continued to attack him in front of another house on the same street.
Ultimately he was able to fight off his attackers and presented to a hospital with injuries sustained during the attack, later providing a statement to police.
Police call for assistance to locate attackers
In both cases, the victims had used dating apps, believed to be Grindr, to connect with their attackers. In an effort to entrap them and lure them to the location they had created fake profiles to entice the men.
Acting Commander Richard Breiner highlighted the dangerous premeditated nature of the attacks when speaking to the media. “Both of those properties were vacant, and that’s obviously one of the reasons that they were chosen by the offenders,” he said.
“These weren’t just spur of the moment things, they’ve cased the place to say that there’s no one or nothing in there that might prevent the attacks from happening.”
The premeditated assaults have prompted ACT police to issue safety warnings, advising individuals to meet in public places such as cafés, restaurants, or shopping centres when meeting someone from a dating app for the first time.
“We would encourage anyone who has information about these incidents in Denman Prospect and Red Hill, or any other similar incidents where people may have been targeted due to their sexual orientation, to come forward,” ACT Police stated.
They are particularly keen to hear from residents in the areas of Ada Norris Avenue, Denman Prospect, and Investigator and Discovery Streets, Red Hill, who may have witnessed the incidents or have CCTV footage that could assist in the investigation.
As the investigation continues, ACT Police are trying to determine if the same group is responsible for both attacks.
They confirmed that ACT police have made contact with Grindr relating to the incidents and while they have no comments regarding the communications, they state those queries are “ongoing.”
They are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers, quoting reference number 7800123 for the assault in Denman Prospect and 7803814 for the assault in Red Hill.
