Dads Against Predators (DAP) is an American vigilante group led by Joshua Mundy and Jay Cameron Carnicom.[2][3][4][5] The group was founded in 2020 and is based in the state of Ohio, although they have operated in several states.[6][7] Its operations have been described by police as often culminating into physical violence, for which reason the group had been banned from multiple Ohio stores.[8]
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| Abbreviation | DAP[1] |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2020 |
| Founder | Joshua Mundy and Jay Cameron Carnicom |
| Headquarters | Ohio |
Region | United States |
A public statement signed by Sandusky County's sheriff, the county prosecutor, and other Ohio police chiefs in October 2020 stated that DAP "fails to potentially realize that it is creating seriously hazardous and potentially dangerous situations in community settings" and that the group's "careless and reckless regard for law and order and due process has resulted in the loss of life".[4][9][10][11] In 2022, three members of Dads Against Predators, including Carnicom and Mundy, were charged after one of the group's operations culminated into a shooting at a shopping mall in North Carolina.[8][2][12][5]
History
editDads Against Predators was founded in Ohio in 2020 by Joshua Mundy and Jay Carnicom, both of whom pose as minors on the internet for the purpose of luring adult men into filmed, real-life confrontations. As of 2021, the group was publishing recordings of its confrontations on Patreon and YouTube.[6][4][3]
In October 2020, the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office and Fremont Police Department threatened to press charges against Dads Against Predators, stating that the group's "careless and reckless regard for law and order and due process has resulted in the loss of life, and the situation has gotten out of hand". One of the group's leaders, Joshua Mundy, denied that the organization had engaged in any illegal activity.[13][9] As of 2021, the group was alleged to have been tied to the suicides of three people that it had accused of sexual misconduct. The leaders of the organization denied having any responsibility for the incidents.[4]
A video published on social media in 2024 showed a member of Dads Against Predators accusing a man of attempting to meet a 13-year-old girl in a Lubbock department store while holding a picture of him in public, after which the man was physically attacked. According to police, the victim sustained multiple injuries in the face, which led to a swollen right eye and a bleeding nose. Lubbock Police Department Lieutenant Brady Cross discouraged the actions of the group and stated that when "you meet someone in a place to take some kind of enforcement action that may not be within your rights, and if you resort to just hitting and assaulting them, you yourself will be in the wrong at that point."[14]
In October 2024, three California men associated with Dads Against Predators were charged with false imprisonment by violence and felony assault. According to police, the men had physically assaulted a man who they had accused of sexual misconduct.[15][16][17] Later that month, five other members of the group were charged with organized criminal activity in Lakeway, Texas. According to the Lakeway Police Department, the DAP members had filmed themselves physically assaulting a person they had accused of sexual misconduct for about five minutes.[18][19]
Death of Robert Lee
editOn September 29, 2023, Dads Against Predators member Robert Lee, known as "Boopac Shakur", was fatally shot after attempting to punch two teenagers in a restaurant in Pontiac, Michigan. The 40-year-old man died in the hospital the day after the encounter.[20][21][22] According to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, as of October 2023, no evidence had been found that the shooting was related to a vigilante sting, despite initial reports.[23]
According to police, on two different occasions prior to his death, Lee had been charged for destroying property of people who were not targets of his sting operations, and in one instance he had accused an innocent person of being a sexual predator.[23] A CNN article described some videos published by Lee on social media as appearing to show him "engaging in violent confrontations with alleged predators".[22] In one video, Lee flattened a person's tires to prevent them from driving away.[24] Lee began conducting sting operations after working with DAP in 2020;[25] he was involved in a sting operation with other DAP vigilantes prior to the shooting in March 2023.[23] Lee cited Dads Against Predators, as well as the television series To Catch a Predator, as inspiration for his operations.[26]
At the time of the shooting, the 16-year-old who fired at Lee was facing a charge of assault with intent to murder related to another shooting that took place in the same city on September 20.[27]
2022 Hanes Mall Boulevard shooting
editOn June 28, 2022, three members of Dads Against Predators were involved in a shooting at a Target store on Hanes Mall Boulevard, a shopping mall located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. According to police, three members of DAP lured a man to the Target store using a social media account, after which one vigilante assaulted the target, an incident that was caught by the camera of one of the vigilantes. The target then slapped the camera, and a fight ensued, during which he shot one of the group's leaders, Carnicom, in the leg. The target of the vigilante group subsequently drove to a local hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries in the head.[8][2][12]
In January 2023, the Winston-Salem Police Department issued an arrest warrant for each of the three vigilantes associated with the shooting. It also charged the man they had lured for carrying a concealed gun.[5] The assistant chief of the Fremont Police Department stated that he was not surprised by the shooting because, he said, the organization had been banned from several Ohio stores due to their meet-ups often culminating into violence.[8][2]
References
edit- ^ "'Boopac Shakur' had never faced a gun while catching predators, associates say. Then he was shot". NBC News. October 5, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Mikkelsen, Emily (2023). "Warrants issued for men involved in 2022 'Dads Against Predators' Hanes Mall Blvd shooting, Winston-Salem Police Department". FOX8.
- ^ a b Shoup, Craig. "Vigilante dads who posed as children to catch predators deemed unlawful by police". USA TODAY.
- ^ a b c d Young, Courtney (October 20, 2021). "These YouTubers say they hunt pedophiles. Their targets keep winding up dead". Mic.
- ^ a b c Stout, Patrick; Williams, Avery (2023). "2 Ohio members of Dads Against Predators wanted in North Carolina, police say". cleveland19.
- ^ a b "Deputies investigate 'vigilante' antics". advertiser-tribune.com.
- ^ Forsey, Madison (2022). "Investigators learn more about 'Dads Against Predators' members accused in incident at North Carolina Target". WBTW.
- ^ a b c d Forsey, Madison (2022). "Investigators learn more about 'Dads Against Predators' members accused in incident at North Carolina Target". WBTW.
- ^ a b "Sandusky sheriff calls Dads Against Predators 'reckless', threatens prosecution". wtol.com. October 19, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ Staff, WTVG (October 19, 2020). "Sandusky Sheriff threatens to prosecute DAP after multiple suicides connected to sting videos". 13ABC. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ Leedy, Aaron (October 19, 2020). "Law enforcement calling on Dads Against Predators to cease operations". WNWO-TV. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ a b "New details revealed after man attacked, fires gun inside Target in Winston-Salem". FOX8.
- ^ "Dads Against Predators leader, community speak out after sheriff's office warns prosecution". wtol.com. October 20, 2020.
- ^ Lowther, Sydney. "'Dads against predators' video circulates social media in Lubbock". KCBD.
- ^ "Shasta DA condemns local vigilante actions following arrests". KRCR. October 4, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ "Vigilante group poses as teen and attacks man who came to meet them, CA cops say". The Sacramento Bee. October 2024.
- ^ Arthur, Damon. "Three men from Redding Dads Against Predators group charged with assault in sting case". Redding Record Searchlight. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ "Group assaults man they claimed was a 'pedophile' at Texas grocery store, police say". KTLA. October 29, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ Jones, Cristela (October 29, 2024). "Group of men reportedly attack alleged 'pedophile' at H-E-B". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ "Michigan man known for exposing child predators shot in confrontation". The Jerusalem Post JPost.com. October 4, 2023.
- ^ "Pontiac vigilante, 'Boopac Shakur', fatally shot by alleged predator during confrontation". FOX 2 Detroit. September 30, 2023.
- ^ a b Sottile, Jessica (October 2, 2023). "Online personality 'Boopac Shakur,' known for exposing alleged sexual predators, shot and killed in Michigan". CNN.
- ^ a b c "Pontiac vigilante 'Boopac Shakur' not killed by alleged predator, sheriff says". FOX 2 Detroit. October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Man known for pursuing sexual predators shot to death in Oakland County restaurant". Hartford Courant. September 30, 2023.
- ^ "'Boopac Shakur' had never faced a gun while catching predators, associates say. Then he was shot". NBC News. October 5, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ Vargas, Ramon Antonio (October 2, 2023). "Boopac Shakur, man known for luring alleged sexual predators, shot and killed". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ Powers, Sara (February 23, 2024). "Teen charged with homicide of "Boopac Shakur," Michigan man known for exposing alleged sexual predators - CBS Detroit". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved July 31, 2024.