The police are investigating whether they were also involved in two other recent robberies on homosexuals in the Flemish city. Two men are said to have been set up after an appointment via Grindr, a dating ap for gay men. The same was the case with 42-year-old David, who was found dead in a Beverens park on Saturday.
Hate murder
The two other victims told police they were also being raided by young people. Of the three suspects from Beveren and Antwerp who were arrested for Saturday’s possible hate murder, two are 17 and one 16 years old.
The three had turned themselves in to the police. According to the media, they were part of a gang that was already known to the police and was mainly guilty of theft with violence and vandalism. One of the suspects had recently been convicted for the latter to community service, reports Het Laatste Nieuws.
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Badly beaten
Victim David actually went according to another Belgian newspaper, Het Nieuwsblad never let out the door for a date. “David was wary, but has never been harassed before,” a friend of his said in the newspaper.
David, from Sint-Niklaas, was severely beaten and killed by stabbing. Various Belgian media write that David has become the victim of homophobia. The Belgian Public Prosecution Service says that the motive is being investigated and does not want to go into the matter further in the interest of the investigation.
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‘Dangerous apps’
Belgian LGBTI advocate Tiszo argues for better security for dating apps, ‘such as gambling websites with the use of identity cards’. Wim Raes, a friend of David’s and a member of Tiszo, thinks that in the times of corona it is more difficult to meet in gay clubs or saunas, and that as a result, people fall back on unsafe dating apps.
“They are dangerous because you don’t know who you are corresponding with.”
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