Austrian investigators announced on Friday the arrest of 15 individuals suspected of orchestrating a series of hate crime attacks targeting members of the LGBTQ community. The suspects, comprising 12 men and three women, are accused of creating deceptive profiles on dating platforms to lure LGBTQ individuals to prearranged locations, where they were subsequently attacked.

According to criminal investigator Michael Lohnegger, the alleged perpetrators deceived at least 17 individuals into traveling to remote areas. Upon arrival, the victims were ambushed by multiple masked assailants. These assaults were then filmed and disseminated within online groups. Authorities further stated that the suspects had falsely accused their victims of being pedophiles.

"None of the victims is a pedophile," emphasized Joachim Huber, deputy police chief of the state of Styria, refuting the allegations made by the attackers.

The suspects range in age from 14 to 26 years old. Among them are 11 Austrian citizens, one German citizen, one Croatian citizen, one Romanian citizen, and one Slovakian citizen, as confirmed by law enforcement officials. Investigators believe that the actual number of victims is likely significantly higher than the number of reported cases.

During coordinated house raids, law enforcement officers reportedly seized weapons and Nazi memorabilia. The operation involved over 400 police officers and criminal investigators, who simultaneously executed raids at 23 locations across seven Austrian provinces on Friday.