Terrified hostages escape after being lured to dark Oklahoma house via dating app, cops say

One by one, police say, the men arrived at the small, dark house in Oklahoma City, Okla., looking for a date. Cops say the men had come thinking they were meeting someone from the dating app Grindr — at least, until the gun came out, News9 reported.

“They were threatened at gunpoint and to give over their cards, phones, keys to their cars,” said Megan Morgan of the Oklahoma City Police Department, according to the station. “Anything they had on them.”

Police say the men were lured to the house in 15-minute increments, then led inside and forced to the ground at gunpoint on Sept. 8, according to KFOR.

“There was only one light in that garage and a couple of victims actually described stepping over what they thought was trash and it turned out to be several of the other live victims who were lying on the floor,” Morgan said, according to the station.

One victim told police he arrived at the house to find a man telling him to come in and sit in a chair, KOKH reported. When he did, another man appeared, put a gun to his head and forced him to the ground, where he realized two other men were already lying, according to the station.

The victim told police he remained on the floor as two men asked for his personal information like his PIN number, and that another victim arrived and soon joined the terrified hostages on the floor, NewsOK reported.

But the next part didn’t go according to the robbers’ plan.

Police say the last man noticed something suspicious, said he wouldn’t sit in the chair and ran away before being chased by the suspects, according to NewsOK.

The men in the house were able to get away and call police, who quickly pieced together the situation by speaking to witnesses, KOHK reported.

“We didn’t have any victims come forward to say they were shot at but because that distraction happened out in front of the house, it allowed the victims time to escape,” Morgan said, according to KFOR.

“This is just another way for somebody that’s involved in crime to gain money instead of just going out and doing it legally, by getting a job,” Bo Matthews with the Oklahoma City Police Department said, according to KOHK. “If you’re going to go on a dating website, obviously you want to meet somebody where there’s a lot of people involved.”

Cops were able to track down and arrest 32-year-old Deaunte McPherson, who they charged with four counts of kidnapping and four counts of robbery with a firearm, according to the station. They were still looking for other suspects.