Abdulwareth A. Alahmad – Photo: Ellisville Police Department
An 18-year-old man has been charged in a suspected hate-motivated attack after allegedly using a gay dating app to lure a victim to a park in Ellisville, Missouri.
According to charging documents cited by KMOV, the victim was lured to Bluebird Park to meet a man named Adam, whom he’d met through the app.
When the victim arrived at the park around 2:20 a.m. on October 21, the man he believed was “Adam” — identified by police as Abdulwareth Alahmad — told him, “I actually hate gay people.”
Four others then emerged from nearby bushes, and the group began punching the victim in the head and torso. When he fell to the ground, they continued punching and kicking him.
Prosecutors say the group hurled homophobic slurs and demanded the victim’s keys and possessions. The victim dropped his iPhone 16 during the attack but escaped in his car. The phone was later found smashed at the park.
The victim drove to the Ellisville Police Department and reported the crime.
Police say surveillance video captured the attack. Detectives also used footage from Flock cameras to trace a vehicle seen leaving the park shortly afterward to Alahmad.
The victim, who was hospitalized with serious injuries, later identified Alahmad as one of his attackers in a photo lineup.
Alahmad, who was arrested during a traffic stop on October 21, faces charges of first-degree assault motivated by discrimination and first-degree property damage motivated by discrimination — both felonies.
But Alahmad’s attorney, Jay Kanzler, says his client has been mistakenly charged. After Kanzler met with police and prosecutors, Alahmad was released on his own recognizance. His bail had previously been set at $200,000, according to St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK.
Ellisville Police Chief Col. Andrew Vaughn told KSDK that the department had received no indication that the charges against Alahmad would be dropped. A post announcing the charges has been deleted from the department’s Facebook page.
Kanzler told FOX affiliate KTVI that his client was misidentified and that he expects the charges to be dropped.
Portia Britt, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said she could not comment on the status of the case.
Ellisville police believe similar incidents may have gone unreported and that the other suspects are juveniles. They are working to identify everyone involved in the October 21 attack.
Police encourage anyone who has experienced a similar encounter to call the Ellisville Police Department at 636-227-7777 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).
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