Surry Hills man assaulted by phone app attacker

Police are on the search for two alleged attackers after a Sydney man was assaulted and then gagged and robbed after inviting a man to his Surry Hills home he had met through an online phone dating app.

The 25-year-old victim has told police he was in his unit on Waine Street when one of the men, whom he had met on the Skout app, entered his home about 9pm on Tuesday night and assaulted him.

Police said the victim was met and assaulted by a second man at the front door when he tried to get away.

The victim was then forced to his bed and pinned down before being gagged. The second man then stole several items, including computers, mobile phones and jewellery. Before the men fled, the second man pulled out a firearm and threatened the victim, police said.

There is currently no description of either of the alleged attackers.

Investigators are currently waiting to conduct a full interview with the victim who has been taken to St Vincent’s Hospital with a minor injury to the back of his head.

Skout is a location-based dating app based in the US that currently has more than five million users worldwide. In June, the company had to suspend access to teenage users after a series of reports in the US media about alleged rapes of underage users by men posing as teenagers.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Surry Hills Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.