Two boys, 15 and 16, arrested over series of homophobic bashings

That victim, they allege, had his jacket and keys stolen from him. They also allege the group stole his car and fled the area with it.

Later that day police conducted a search of a South Lake home, leading to the arrest of the boys.

Both were charged with aggravated armed robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, criminal damage or destruction of property and steal motor vehicle.

Police said the victims were subjected to homophobic slurs during the assaults and that some of the assaults were filmed and posted to social media.

They are urging people who identify with the diverse sexuality and/or gender (DSG) community to exercise caution when arranging meetings through online dating websites and applications.

“We take this behaviour extremely seriously and there is no place for this kind of targeted violence in our community,” Detective Inspector Matt Froude said.

“While incidents of this nature are rare, we treat them with the utmost seriousness and we encourage victims to come forward so we can investigate.”

Froude said dating app users should take steps to ensure their safety.

“If you arrange to meet with someone over a dating app, meet in a public, well-lit place with plenty of people around,” he said.

“Let your family and friends know where you are going and who you are arranging to meet.

“Some of these apps have built-in safety features that allow you to share your live location with trusted contacts for added security during meet ups.”

Anyone with information in relation to these incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online via www.crimestopperswa.com.au.

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