Warning over 'premeditated homophobic attack' after car park assault
Gardaí are investigating an alleged homophobic assault on a man in Dublin last night.
In a post on Facebook, the man said he had arranged to meet whom he thought was a man he had been speaking to on gay dating app Grindr.
He said they arranged to meet at the cinema on the Malahide road, but when he got there, four young men attacked him with weapons and damaged his car.
Folks last night this man was attacked because he's gay because a group of homophobic scum bags set up a fake profile on @Grindr and used it to lure him into an ambush. As a gay man this terrifies and infuriates me all in one. We all use or have used Grindr for various 1/ pic.twitter.com/ur8XOo9eh7
— Cllr Chris Pender (@ChrisPenderKE) October 16, 2019
He described the incident as a “premeditated homophobic attack”.
Gardaí confirmed a man in his early 50s was assaulted near the Malahide Road, Coolock, north Dublin at about 10.30pm.
In a statement, Gardaí said a man in his fifties “received non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment”.
Social Democrat Councillor Chris Pender, an acquaintance of the man, said the LGBTQ community is saddened by the alleged attack.
“I wish I could day it surprises me but it does not – this is something that LGBQT people still face in Ireland despite the strides we have made with marriage equality,” he said.
Mr Pender said he had previously been subject to a homophobic attack several years ago, and that people are reluctant to report the incidents to gardaí.
“Homophobia still appears to be bubbling under the surface and it is frightening that a man could be lured into such a vicious attack and that such hatred exists,” he said.
Mr Pender said the alleged attack highlights the need for hate crime legislation to be introduced in Ireland to deal with attacks on minority communities.
Gardaí at Coolock asking for witnesses or anyone with information to contact them at Coolock Garda Station.
A Dublin man has been treated for injuries to his face after he was attacked in a car park.
The victim, in his 50s, says he was jumped by a gang of teenagers after arranging to meet someone on Grindr, a dating app for gay people.
He has described it as a premeditated homophobic attack and is warning other gay men to take extra care online.
Gardaí have confirmed they're investigating an assault which took place near the Malahide Road in Coolock around 10.30pm last night.
