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.
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