A 24 year-old man from Springtown, Texas has ended up in hospital after a hook up on the MeetMe app went terribly wrong.
Arron Keahey was beaten and brutalised by an 18-year-old suspect, after meeting up with him an hour after the two men struck up conversation on the MeetMe app.
Keahey said to ABC News8 reporter Steve Stoler that he was ‘ambushed almost immediately’ after his arrival at the 18-year-old’s address saying,
‘He started getting all frustrated and talking all angrily,” Keahey said. “I don’t remember anything after that.’
Police in North Texas are currently investigating the attack after Brice Johnson called 911 to say that he had ‘found Keahey outside his house in the trunk of a car.’
The police later arrested and charged Johnson with aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury and are treating it as a ‘possible hate crime,’ however as the victim doesn’t remember the attack and Johnson is also saying that he remembers very little about the incident.
Keahey has broken facial bones, nerve damage and has lost some teeth. He will require corrective cosmetic surgery for his injuries.
A spokesperson for the MeetMe app has said,
‘Safety is MeetMe’s top priority. To ensure that our 1 million daily users have a safe and enjoyable experience online, we employ a variety of human and technological filters that include real-time review of every image posted to the site and a zero-tolerance policy for interactions that violate our terms of service.
‘As this tragic incident illustrates, offline meetings can carry significant risk – which is why MeetMe prominently displays safety messages to every user of our mobile apps and logged-in users of our website see reminders at the bottom every screen about the dangers of meeting people they don’t know.
‘In addition, MeetMe created and operates the website www.socialsafety.org as a resource to help users and their families stay safe online and links to it from throughout MeetMe’s website and app.’
To watch the news report click here.
