Chicago police are investigating a string of robberies in which suspects used Grindr to lure men to hotel rooms, then robbed them using stun guns.
At least five similar robberies involving the gay dating app were reported in the downtown area between Dec. 22 and Jan. 28.
The Associated Press reports: In at least two of the incidents, the suspect used the stun gun after the victims refused to hand over their property. In other instances, the victims turned over their property after the suspect threatened to use the stun gun. … Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Grindr is cooperating with the investigation and “we have some good leads.” He said in the meantime, the police department is urging people who use dating sites to be cautious and, “When meeting for the first time, try to meet in public places.”
In related news, the number of anti-LGBT and other hate crimes has spiked dramatically in the Windy City in recent years, according to a Chicago Tribune investigation published this week: An analysis shows that reported hate crimes started to rise during the latter part of the decade: the city averaged 63 a year from 2012-15 and 75 a year from 2016-19. … LGBT people have been the target of more reported hate crimes than any group in Chicago over the last eight years: 159. That also was true last year. The 29 alleged crimes reported as of mid-November nearly doubled the 16 reported in 2018.
