A 17-year-old is facing charges after police accused him of robbing at least one person at gunpoint after meeting them on a gay dating app.
T’andre Seals turned himself in to Atlanta police Monday after investigators took out warrants accusing him in an armed robbery that was “targeted towards the LGBTQ community,” authorities said.
Atlanta police said Seals is accused in one of at least eight robberies that bore striking similarities.
Authorities previously said multiple men were robbed at gunpoint between February and May of this year after meeting up with a person they connected with on Grindr, a popular gay dating app. The suspect typically met the victim on the site and chatted with them, getting their phone number and taking the conversation offline. Eventually, the suspect would ask them out.
“From February to May, we have had eight instances where male victims were lured to remote locations by use of the Grindr app,” Sgt. Rodney Jones, who works in APD’s robbery unit, previously said in a news conference. “After the date concludes, the suspect will rob the victim, often taking their wallets, keys or even vehicles.”
Atlanta police said the robberies were similar, leading investigators to believe they were the work of a single suspect. When investigators obtained and released surveillance video of the person they believed had committed the armed robbery, they received “valuable information” that connected Seals to the case, police said.
Police did not release specific details about the information that helped identify Seals as a suspect. While police have charged him in connection with only one of the incidents, Sgt. Jarius Daugherty said investigators “anticipate additional charges as the investigation progresses.”
Seals was taken to the Fulton County Jail, where he remains. In addition to armed robbery, he is charged with aggravated assault, hijacking a motor vehicle and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.
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