Eleven Illinois teenagers were hit with felony charges in connection with the alleged luring and beating of two men using dating apps this summer, according to police.
Some of the teens, all males aged 17 and one aged 16, allegedly took inspiration for the crimes from a viral social media trend, the Mount Prospect Police Department said in news release published Thursday. Police did not elaborate what the social media trend entailed.
On July 8 at around 9:45 p.m., a 41-year-old man reported to police that he’d been beaten by “a group of teenagers” in a parking lot at 606 West Northwest Highway in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
“The victim related that he had utilized an online dating app to arrange to meet a person at that location,” police said in the news release. “After arriving, the victim related that he was approached by a group of teenage males, who confronted him verbally and battered him. Teenagers in the group also damaged the victim’s vehicle.”
The 41-year-old man was followed by the teenagers when he tried to flee in his car, but was eventually able to get away from them, police said.
About 10 minutes later on the same night, police responded to the 400 block of See Gwun Avenue for a report of a battery. A 23-year-old man told police he arranged to meet someone through a dating app on the 900 block of West Lincoln Street — about a mile away from the location of the first incident — and was instead approached by teen males who beat him, with one slashing tires on his car, according to police.