Gay dating apps used by attackers to trap victims in Ireland
Attackers in Cork in Ireland are using gay dating apps to lure their victims into meeting.
LGBT people in Cork have been warned to stay safe on dating apps after attackers use sites to lure victims.
Cork resident Louise O’Donnell made a Facebook post warning gay people after her friend was attacked by a date he met online, the Irish Examiner reports.
The post said: “Unfortunately, there is a group or groups of young people in Cork carrying out organised beatings against members of this community. Posing as young men and women on different sites including Tinder, Plenty of Fish and Grindr, they aim to get young gay and lesbians alone in secluded areas of the city to carry out vicious assaults.”
Her friend met up with a man after they had arranged a date on a dating app. When he arrived four or five men got out of a van and tried to attack him but he got away.
Louise has since said that someone contacted her about saying a similar thing had happened to them in Cork. She is encouraging people to share the post to spread the warning and it currently has over 200 shares.
Ireland is set to vote in a referendum this May, which will ask whether Irish people wish to legalise same-sex marriage.
James Upton, auditor of UCC’s LGBT society, told the Examiner that the incident was not isolated. There has been a rise in attacks on Cork’s LGBT community in the past 6 months, which he feels is linked to the upcoming referendum.
“We can’t tell our members not to go on these sites, but we would issue a word of caution about meeting people from them, that they could be catfished.” he warned.
A recent poll found that one in five voters are still undecided about how they will vote in the referendum. 62% are in favour, 16% are against it and 22 percent of voters are still unsure.
