Police arrest teenage boy after gay man is shot dead and two more injured in string of dating app attacks
Damarion Trammell Degrate (Waco Police)
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with three dating app shootings that left a gay man dead and two others injured in Texas.
Damarion Trammell Degrate was arrested last week by police in Waco, Texas, in connection with the three shootings, KWTX reports.
Police suspect that Degrate may have arranged to meet the men through an online dating app for gay men.
17-year-old Damarion Trammell Degrate was arrested in connection with three shootings that left one gay man dead in Texas.
The 17-year-old was arrested last Thursday (20 August) and was charged with attempted murder in connection with one of the three shootings.
He is being held in McLennan County Jail on a $200,000 bond while police investigate his potential involvement in the two other shootings.
Police believe he may have been the gunman who shot Jonathan Breeding, 23, who was found dead on Monday, 17 August.
We strongly recommend arranging online dating meetings in public venues.
All three victims were shot on the same day, according to local reports.
Breeding was found unresponsive in a car that had crashed into a pole at 1.40am on Monday morning. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The incident was discovered just over an hour after another victim drove to a nearby store for help after he was shot. He was taken to hospital where he was successfully treated.
Police urge LGBT+ people who use a gay dating app to exercise caution when arranging dates.
The third victim was discovered at 6.15am that morning following reports of gunfire at North 34th Street. He was also treated at a local hospital.
“We identified early in the investigation a link between the three shootings and the danger this suspect presented to our community,” said interim police chief Frank Gentsch.
Sergeant Peter Mottley added: “Early on detectives established a link with all three shooting victims who used an online dating app primarily used by gay men.
“We continue to caution our citizens when using dating applications, in particular those that cater to the LGBT+ community,” he said.
“We strongly recommend arranging online dating meetings in public venues.”
