‘A demon like the rest of them’: Man arrested after robbing, pistol-whipping transgender woman he met on Grindr, sheriff says

HOUSTON – A man accused of pistol-whipping and robbing a transgender woman he met on a dating app has been arrested, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Friday.

Salih A. Alhemoud, 28, was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

According to court documents, the victim said she and Alhemoud met on Grindr, a networking dating app that was created for members of the LGBTQ community.

“I’m scared. I can’t believe people like that exist in the world,” the woman said.

The woman said, on Aug. 29, the two decided to meet at her apartment and hang out.

Alhemoud allegedly showed up at the woman’s apartment around 1:30 p.m. and, after she let him in, followed her into her bedroom and closed the door behind them.

“He showed me a gun and said give me everything you have. I told him I don’t have cash,” the victim said.

The woman said she immediately felt that was odd because the two of them were already alone in the apartment.

That is when, according to the woman, Alhemoud pulled a pistol from underneath his shirt and began demanding money. The woman told him she did not have any, saying she only carried credit cards.

According to investigators, Alhemoud began to beat the woman with the butt of the pistol, striking her multiple times in the face and head, causing her to sustain a swollen eye, among other bruises.

When she fell to the ground, Alhemoud began to stomp her in the face and torso, investigators said. As she tried to cover her face, she sustained further injuries on her arms and chest.

The victim told investigators that Alhemoud repeatedly insulted her during the assault, saying she was “a demon like the rest of them” and “wouldn’t come out of this alive.”

The woman said Alhemoud knew she was transgender before the two of them decided to meet as they had already discussed it several times over texts.

Alhemoud allegedly took the woman’s purse from the living room, then fled the apartment, leaving in a newer-model, red Dodge Charger. The victim also ran out of the apartment, begging for help.

The victim says it’s hard being a transgender woman and she is grateful to be alive,” she said.

“Yes, thank you Lord,” she said.

Police responded to the scene and took a report. They were given a description of the vehicle and the victim was also able to ping the location of her iPad, which the suspect had in his possession, investigators said.

Police tracked the location to another apartment complex, where they saw a vehicle matching the description they were given.

They were able to pull records from the license plate number and created a photo lineup of possible suspects, to which the victim positively identified Alhemoud as her attacker.

Days after the attack, court documents show Alhemoud threatened two people with a gun during a road rage accident and he charged with aggravated assault.

“He’s dangerous to other trans and other people you never know,” the victim said.

Gonzalez said Alhemoud was booked into the Harris County Jail. His bond was set at $100,000.