Detroit man allegedly kills one gay man and seriously injures another he met using dating app Grindr in robbery gone awry
A Detriot man on Friday, July 12, was charged with first-degree murder and assault with the intention to commit a murder, after he allegedly shot two men during an attempt to rob them on July 6.
According to the Wayne County prosecutor's office, the accused, 26-year-old Demetris Nelson found the victims, 31-year-old Brian Anderson, and 26-year-old Malcolm Drake, on one of the most popular gay dating apps known as Grindr. Anderson was killed and Drake was seriously injured.
According to NY Daily News, the prosecutors in a statement unveiled that Nelson "targeted Anderson and Drake because they were gay."
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in the statement added, "The allegations are that social media contacts were used to target, contact, rob, fatally shoot one gay man and seriously wound another gay man. To some, this will be just another hateful and violent act in America. They will read about this case and continue to go about their day. To me, that is quite tragic."
According to the website, the Wayne County prosecutor's office was facilitated by the Fair Michigan Justice Project, a partnership of legal experts, former prosecutor and community leaders that help the Michigan law enforcement officials to solve serious crimes done against LGBTQ individuals.
Opening up regarding this incident, Alanna Maguire the project president unveiled, "we are saddened and outraged by this despicable crime. This case is just the most recent example of how members of Detroit's LGBTQ community are too often targets of violence."
This might not be the first case that involves Nelson. The suspect has been part of a series of other incidents that involve people he got to know through dating apps. NY Daily News reported that according to sources who were contacted by local news station WXYZ, the culprit confessed to engaging in various social media apps to meet his victims.
Nelson allegedly used different profiles on social media to evade getting caught. He had already been prosecuted in another case on multiple charges under a pseudonym, Lamont Daniels. The website reports that two hours prior to him allegedly killing Anderson and seriously injuring Drake, he used a firearm to rob another person he met through the same app.