It was June 12, Valentine’s Day in Brazil. Leo Nunes, 24, had spent a few days talking to someone he met on Hornet, a popular gay dating app, before arranging their first meeting in the middle-class Sacoma neighborhood of São Paulo.

A surveillance camera recorded the moment when two men on a motorcycle appeared in the alley where he was waiting, took his phone and shot him.

The Nunes family, which gave details of the investigation to Reuters, said a suspect had been arrested. Sao Paulo police said they were investigating the shooting as a robbery followed by murder, but gave no further information or confirmed whether there had been an arrest.

Nunes was one of at least five gay men killed since March 2024 after arranging meetings on dating apps in Brazil, according to news reports. Dozens of other victims have described on social media how they became victims of armed robberies after being lured by fake profiles on gay dating apps.

The police also warned of “love scams” ​​in which heterosexual men are lured into kidnappings, but did not provide any figures.

The series of killings and attacks has shaken Brazil’s gay community, which is large and vibrant but often distrustful of police. That reticence makes it a target for criminals, say three people who said they were attacked and LGBT activists.