Gay Brazilians targeted in deadly stickups, lured by dating apps

CAMBUQUIRA, Brazil, Aug 26 (Reuters) - It was June 12, Lover's Day in Brazil. Leo Nunes, 24, had spent a few days talking to someone he met on Hornet, a popular gay dating app, before arranging their first encounter in Sao Paulo's middle-class Sacoma neighborhood.

A security camera captured the moment that two men on a motorcycle showed up in the alley where he was waiting, grabbed his phone and shot him dead.

The Nunes family, who shared details of the investigation with Reuters, said one suspect had been arrested. Sao Paulo police said they are investigating the shooting as a robbery resulting in a homicide, but did not provide further information or confirm if there had been an arrest.

Nunes was one of at least five gay men killed since March 2024 after planning encounters through dating apps in Brazil, according to news reports. Dozens more victims have described on social media suffering armed robberies after being lured by fake profiles on gay dating apps.

Police have also warned of "love cons" involving straight men lured into kidnappings, without providing figures.

The string of murders and assaults has shaken the gay community in Brazil, which is large and vibrant but still often wary of law enforcement. This reluctance makes it a target for criminals, according to three people who said they had been attacked, as well as LGBT advocates.

"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 found dead in April in Sao Paulo after being shot in the head. Montanholi said Dumba was killed by criminals in an attempted robbery after they had lured him into an ambush through a dating app.

Sao Paulo po...
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