ACT Police have issued a safety warning after a string of homophobic attacks in Canberra. Two men using the 'Grindr' app have been assaulted by groups of men in two separate incidents the past week and police are warning there could be more attacks.
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00:00There have been two separate incidents here in Canberra in the last week alone and today
00:06police didn't rule out the possibility that there could be more that they don't yet know
00:11about.
00:12In both cases, the alleged victims had agreed to meet up with a match on the dating app
00:16Grindr, which police now suspect were through fake profiles.
00:21In the first incident on Tuesday last week, the alleged victim turned up to an empty house
00:26and was set upon by four men.
00:29He managed to escape on his motorbike, but it's alleged the offenders stole his helmet
00:34and motorbike gloves in the process.
00:36The second incident happened in this street in what is quite an affluent suburb in Canberra.
00:41The alleged victim turned up to another empty house and this time was set upon by eight
00:46men.
00:47They reportedly yelled homophobic slurs and tried to steal the man's wallet and keys,
00:53and when he tried to escape, they followed him and damaged his car.
00:57Because they're so similar, police suspect the incidents are linked.
01:01It is concerning.
01:03Where we've had two attacks, obviously there's the propensity for more attacks if we don't
01:07get the message out and people don't heed a warning to meet in a public area.
01:13Now police have contacted Grindr to see what sort of information they can obtain from the
01:18app's data.
01:19LGBTQI advocate groups are also calling for anyone who's experienced a similar incident
01:25to report it to make sure the alleged offenders can be held responsible.