00:00These are two separate incidents, but police allege their circumstances are almost exactly
00:08the same.
00:09In both cases, it's alleged the men had arranged to meet up with a match from the dating app
00:13Grindr.
00:14Police now say they believe those profiles were fake and were actually an attempt to
00:19lure victims to certain addresses.
00:22In the first incident, the alleged victim had agreed to meet a man last Tuesday morning
00:26at a home on Ada Norris Avenue in Denman Prospect.
00:30When he arrived, he was attacked by a group of four men.
00:34He allegedly managed to escape on his motorbike, but police say his helmet and gloves were
00:39stolen by the alleged offenders.
00:42The second incident happened when the alleged victim had agreed to meet a man at a reportedly
00:47empty house on Investigator Street in Red Hill in the early hours of Saturday morning.
00:52Here, he was allegedly bashed by a group of seven or eight men who shouted homophobic
00:57slurs at him, demanded money and attempted to take his wallet and keys.
01:03The man fled in his car, but the group allegedly followed him and continued the assault, damaging
01:08his car.
01:09He took himself to hospital later that day.
01:12Over the weekend, Camerons have been sharing warnings about the incidents on social media,
01:17urging alleged victims to report them.
01:20At this stage, police suspect the incidents were targeted and they're also considering
01:25whether they're linked.
01:26They're also urging people who use dating apps to meet up in public when they're meeting
01:31for the first time.
01:32Anyone who might have witnessed the incident or experienced a similar incident themselves
01:37is being urged to contact police.
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