Source: Radio New Zealand
Two people were injured, one critically, after being lured to Queens Park in separate attacks last week (file image). Supplied / Google Maps
Southland Police are urging people not to share violent videos of assaults circulating online, as they investigate any links between attacks and dating apps.
Police could not confirm if the videos were linked to two separate attacks in Invercargill’s Queens Park last week that left one person in critical care and another seriously injured.
The victims were lured to the park using dating apps.
In a statement, police said the videos were being investigated in relation to “a number of reported assaults linked to dating applications”.
Police could not say how many assaults had been reported.
Acting Inspector Mel Robertson said they believed criminals were following online trends to use dating platforms to meet people with the intention of violently assaulting them, filming it and sharing it online.
“We strongly urge people not to share these videos or encourage this behaviour. It is abhorrent, callous offending and completely unnecessary in our community,” she said.
She said there was no information at this stage to suggest certain groups of people were being targeted and anyone using dating apps should take measures keep themselves safe.
“If you are meeting people from these applications, please ensure you let somebody trusted know your plans and movements and always meet people in public places,” she said.
Police could not confirm which app was used and were still working to establish whether the two Invercargill attacks were linked.
On both occasions, more than one offender was involved, a spokesperson said.
Invercargill city councillor Steve Broad said people were horrified by the attacks.
Broad said he hoped police, community organisations and others could examine what could be done in terms of safety advice, possible improvements to security or lighting and ensuring systems were in place to keep people as safe as possible in a “changing world”.
“Those foundational safety issues may be the same and hopefully there is change happening in this space, but I think technology certainly adds to the complicated nature of it,” he said.
Broad said he was gutted about the attacks.
“I find the attacks really sad as an individual. I’m probably still grappling with it on a personal level as well. The journey of me being gay, particularly through my teenage and young adult years, was one that … you didn’t always feel safe to be yourself,” he said.
“These attacks certainly resonate with me on that level.”
Despite those challenges, Broad said he had found Southlanders to be “some of the loveliest, warmest, realist and most authentic, loving people that I know. This community has been incredible to me”.
Broad was the highest polling candidate in last year’s council elections.
“This community has known my sexuality and has voted in historic numbers to say we see you, we accept you and we want you to represent us and maybe there’s more to me than being gay in the eyes of my community, which I think is a testament to them,” he said.
As chief executive of Y Southland, Broad said he worked for an organisation that sent a strong message of diversity and inclusion.
“I see our young people, our rangatahi coming in and being so accepting and difference is normalised and difference is actually protected and really valued,” he said.
But he said people had approached him with fears the attacks were homophobic, he said.
“It’s a moment where the community gets to send a message to each other around who we are and that we are certainly as a community far, far bigger than this, far more accepting and far more safe than this,” he said.
“It’s also a reminder for the LGBTQ+ community that there is great hope and great things happening in this space but to be vigilant. There are still challenges when it comes to our acceptance and visibility and safety, so just to take care of each other and ourselves, particularly when navigating technology and connection.”
The first attack on the evening of 8 May left a person in critical care and the second, in the early hours of 10 May, resulted in serious injuries.
At the time, Robertson said it appeared people were lured to secluded locations late at night intending to attack them.
“Not only are [the offenders] taking advantage of people’s trust but they are planning these attacks with the intention to seriously injure these people.
“We urge anybody who is planning to meet someone from a dating app to choose a location which is public, or well-lit at night, as well as letting someone trusted know your plans and movements,” she said.
In 2023, a series of violent attacks against gay men in Christchurch saw six teenagers charged with multiple serious offences.
Some of the attacks were filmed and shared on social media.
Police said anyone who had been the victim of an assault, knew of someone who had, or had any information that could assist investigations should contact them by dialling 105 or online at 105.police.govt.nz.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand