A judge's gavel for the files. Bjoern Wylezich, HO / TNS

A Houston man has pleaded guilty to a hate crime charge over accusations he used a dating app to convince a transgender woman to meet with him and then beating her with a gun.

Salih Ali Mohammed Alhemoud on July 20 agreed to plead guilty to a federal hate crime count and admitted that he targeted the woman based on her sexual orientation, court records state. The term transgender refers to a person's gender identity.


He now faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He's scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

In August 2022, Alhemoud used Grindr, a dating app designed for LGBTQ people, to contact his victim and arrange a meeting at her apartment, according to federal prosecutors. When they were in her bedroom, he pulled out a gun and began assaulting her, according to a complaint.

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Alhemoud admitted to pointing a gun at the victim, striking her in the head with the gun and making threats and directing slurs at her during the assault, according to the plea agreement.

According to the FBI, Alhemoud told the victim she was going to die and made statements such as  my religion considers you a demon  and that she  was a demon like the others, all you trans people. 


Investigators alleged Alhemoud targeted multiple victims

It was not the only time that Alhemoud used the internet to find victims, investigators alleged.

Two other people told investigators that Alhemoud had come to their shared apartment in July 2022, after reaching out to one of them through Instagram. When he arrived, he threatened them with a gun and yelled slurs at them, according to the complaint.

Three other people, including two transgender women and a gay man, said they were in an apartment along with Alhemoud in September 2022 when he threatened to kill one of them, stole some of their belongi

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