An 18-year-old Ellisville, Mo., man is charged with first-degree assault and first-degree property damage motivated by discrimination after police say he used a dating app to lure a man to a park, where a group beat him.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Abdulwareth A. Alahmad, FOX 2 reported. His attorney says it’s a case of mistaken identity.
Police Say the Bluebird Park Attack Began With a Meetup With ‘Adam’
The victim told Ellisville police he’d been talking with someone named “Adam” on a dating site, according to a probable cause statement. He drove to Bluebird Park on Kiefer Creek Road to meet him around 2:20 a.m. Oct. 21.
When he got there, “Adam” told him, “I actually hate gay people,” according to charging documents. Four men then came out of nearby bushes.
They punched him in the head and body and kept kicking and punching after he went down, KMOV reported. Police said the group used homophobic and racist slurs and demanded his keys and his “stuff,” KSDK reported.
He dropped his phone, reached his car and drove to the Ellisville Police Department. Police said the group left, came back and smashed the phone, an iPhone 16 later found at the park. The man was hospitalized with serious injuries, KSDK reported. Police haven’t released his name.
How Ellisville Police Say They Found Alahmad
Surveillance cameras recorded video and audio of the attack, police said. Flock license plate cameras caught a vehicle leaving the park, and investigators traced it to Alahmad. The victim picked him out of a photo lineup.
Officers pulled him over around 10 p.m. that night and arrested him, FOX 2 reported. He was held on a $200,000 cash-only bond.
Police told KMOV the other four are juveniles and that charges against them should come soon. They also said they believe the group has done this before. Police want to hear from anyone with information at 636-227-7777, or through CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).
Bluebird Park Visitors and Missouri LGBTQ+ Advocates React
People at the park told KMOV they were stunned.
“It’s disgusting, and you thought these things were over years ago,” said Dennis Orando.
Austin Wright said he grew up in Ellisville. “It doesn’t really fit the norms that I would expect,” he said. “It’s an extremely accepting community.”
Robert Fischer of PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy group, told KMOV the attack reflected wider hostility toward LGBTQ+ people.
Chris Conner, a sociology professor at the University of Missouri, told the station that dating apps are now being used to find targets. “The pattern here in the United States tends to be more in these rural, suburban or exurban areas,” he said.
Alahmad’s Attorney Says He Was Misidentified
Jay Kanzler, Alahmad’s lawyer, told FOX 2 that his client was misidentified and that he expects the charges to be dropped. Kanzler said Alahmad had been released on his own recognizance. FOX 2 noted that Missouri court records hadn’t yet shown the release.
Ellisville police told KMOV they’re confident they arrested the right person.
Alahmad’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17, according to FOX 2.
