The two men were attacked over the weekend | Photo: Porapak Apichodilok via Pexels
Two men have been attacked in the Netherlands after arranging dates on Grindr.
The attacks happened in Dordrecht, a city in Holland, Western Netherlands.
The first victim was a 28-year-old man.
Lennart Lenskens is the organizer of Dordrecht Pride and a friend of the victim.
He explained the victim had arranged to meet his date in the parking lot outside a local football club on Friday night (30 March).
‘The profile picture in the app matched the man who waited in the parking lot and he looked trustworthy,’ Lenskens continued to tell a local newspaper. ‘He proposed to go to his house, which would be nearby.’
The victim says he was leaving the parking lot with his date, 16 men appeared from the bushes and attacked only him.
The group of men caused facial injuries to the victim and left him unconscious.
Lenskens adds the victim was wearing a thick coat which ‘caught the worst blows.’
The victim is now recovering at home after receiving treatment for his injuries in hospital.
He has not pressed charges because he is afraid of reprisal.
Wouter Kolff is the Mayor of Dordrecht.
He tweeted to explain he had contacted the two victims of anti-gay violence. Kolff added local police are working to find the attackers.
He finished the tweet with a message warning people to stay safe on dating apps and sites.
Dit weekend hebben zich in Dordrecht twee nare incidenten met anti-homogeweld voorgedaan. We hebben nauw contact met de slachtoffers. Politie, OM en ik doen er alles aan om de laffe daders op te sporen en te stoppen. Wees in de tussentijd alert met daten via apps en sites!
— Wouter Kolff (@WouterKolff) April 1, 2018
Saturday night attack
A second attack took place on Saturday night (31 March).
This attack took place 30 minutes from the location of the Friday night attack.
The victim had also arranged to meet a date from Grindr.
Police say he was ‘almost mistreated’ but he managed to escape in time.
They believe both men were attacked for being gay and are investigating whether the two incidents are connected.
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