a gay man drove to a missouri park to meet his date. police say his date said "i actually hate gay people" and four men came out of the bushes.

Illustration: The Watering Hole

via FOX 2 St. Louis and KMOV First Alert 4

The man he had been talking to online went by "Adam." They agreed to meet at Bluebird Park in Ellisville, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb, around 2:20 a.m. on Oct. 21. According to the Ellisville Police Department's probable cause statement, as reported by FOX 2, the two began talking, and then "Adam" said, "I actually hate gay people."

That was when four men came out of the bushes, police say. The group punched and kicked him repeatedly, demanded his keys and belongings, and called him homophobic and racist slurs, according to both stations. He dropped his phone, made it to his car and drove straight to the police station. The phone was later found smashed at the park.

who is charged

Police say surveillance video caught the suspects' vehicle, and KMOV reported that Flock license-plate cameras captured the man leaving the park. Investigators traced the car to Abdulwareth A. Alahmad, 18, of Ellisville, whom the victim identified as "Adam." Officers stopped his car around 10 p.m. that night.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has charged Alahmad with first-degree assault and first-degree property damage motivated by discrimination, a case FOX 2 describes as a hate crime. He was being held on a $200,000 cash-only bond, with a bond reduction hearing set for this week and a preliminary hearing on Nov. 17, FOX 2 reported. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent. Neither station reported charges against the four other men.

The detail that should worry anyone on the apps in the St. Louis area: Ellisville police said they believe there are unreported incidents similar to this attack. Anyone with a similar experience is asked to call 636-227-7777. Meet in public, in daylight, and tell a friend where you're going. It's grim that it still needs saying.