Thugs used Grindr to lure man to fake hook-up, then kidnapped him and stole his dog
A man was robbed and kidnapped at knife-point by thugs who used Grindr to lure him to a secluded house.
The shocking incident occurred in Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday night.
The victim, who has not been identified, had met 22-year-old Vadol Marquise Reed on the gay hookup app and was invited to his house in Boynton Beach.
The Palm Beach Post reports that when the man arrived at Reed’s house, he was jumped by Reed and two masked men, wielding a knife, a firearm and a metal pole.
The man was stripped of his possessions, kidnapped and forced to take the thugs back to his own home, which was ransacked for valuables. Among the items stolen from his house were his dog, Coco.
The victim, who does not wish to be identified, was initially too afraid to contact the police.
However, he was convinced to file a report after an alert on an LGBT Facebook page surfaced allegations of similar crimes against a second man.
After the crime was reported to Boyton Beach police department, Reed was tracked down and is now facing charges of robbery with a firearm and kidnapping.
A second man was arrested but has since been released pending further investigation.
Happily, the dog Coco has been reunited with his owner.
According to the Post, police believe that Reed and the two masked men may also be responsible for at least two other robberies of men they met on Grindr.
There have been a string of other cases in recent years of predators and criminals using gay hook-up apps to lure victims.
Most famously, London serial killer Stephen Port used gay apps to find victims between 2014 and 2015.
Port used the app to lure men to his house, where he drugged them with GHB and raped their unconscious bodies. Four victims did not survive the attacks.
He was found guilty of four murders, seven counts of administering a substance, three rapes and three sexual assaults.
