Police in Illinois have charged 11 teenagers who allegedly used a gay dating app to lure and attack two male victims in separate incidents.

Police in Mount Prospect, about 20 miles north-west of Chicago, said in a press release that the teen boys, who are all 17 except for one who is 16, had been charged with felonies, including aggravated battery, criminal damage to property and mob action. One was also charged with two counts of a hate crime for shouting a “racial and another derogatory term”.  

The two incidents are alleged to have taken place on 8 July and involved a 41-year-old man and 23-year-old victim, who were assaulted at a convenience store parking lot and in a residential street.

The teens then damaged the men’s vehicles, including slashing the tires, before the victims were able to escape, according to the police, who were able to use video surveillance footage from the incident in the parking lot to identifying some of the individuals.

All 11 teenagers are said to have surrendered themselves to the police in November.

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