News (World)

Criminals are targeting gay Brazilians in a string of murders & robberies

Gay men are being lured by people with fake profiles on apps.
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Threat of firearms. Muzzle of gun in man's hand is pointed at camera. Male criminal holds revolver on black background. Attack or defense.
Photo: Shutterstock

Gay Brazilians have become targeted as a slew of murderers have been using dating apps to target gay men, Reuters reports.

One victim, Leo Nunes, was murdered on Lover’s Day in Brazil after he met someone on Hornet, a gay dating app. He was killed in a middle-class neighborhood in Sao Paulo.

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Police found the bodies on Wednesday night after receiving reports of a man acting suspiciously on a suspension bridge.

One suspect has been arrested, however the string of crimes has yet to stop. People report being robbed and attacked after meeting up with assailants using fake profiles.

Straight men may be at risk, too, of “love cons,” where straight men are lured to a remote location to meet with a woman and are instead kidnapped and robbed.

Criminal groups are targeting LGBTQ+ people because of their known reluctance to interact with law enforcement.

“Because of structural homophobia, criminals know that LGBT people are vulnerable. They know they will be more easily intimidated,” said Wanderley Montanholi, a lawyer for the family of Heleno Veggi Dumba, a gay doctor who was murdered in April in Sao Paulo after an attempted robbery.

Three suspects have been arrested for Dumba’s killing, however none are charged as of yet.

Five gay men have been killed through these apps since March of 2024, although the number may be higher as deaths go unreported to police.

Brazilian police declined to comment to Reuters about murders linked to gay dating apps, mentioning only the “love cons.”

Gabriel, a gay man who did not give his surname to Reuters, was robbed by the same profile on the same street as Nunes. “One man put a gun to my stomach and asked me the password of my phone,” he said, which led to his bank accounts being accessed and his money and credit cards stolen.

According to Gabriel, the profile remained on Hornet for weeks after it was flagged, in spite of multiple people flagging it as well. Law enforcement declined to comment on the cases of Gabriel and other individuals who had been attacked.

Gerry Monaghan, head of operations at Hornet, said to Reuters that “all reports are looked at and reviewed by Hornet.” He also said that the company added additional staff to handle reporting and that they changed their reporting system to prioritize issues based on severity. He did not elaborate on this.

A spokesperson for Grindr said that they are “aware that in Brazil, digital platforms such as ours are occasionally abused to target LGBTQ+ people.” He referenced security features in the app and referenced their participation with law enforcement.

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