Brooklyn teen who fatally stabbed gay dancer O’Shae Sibley hit with murder as a hate crime: NYPD
NEW YORK — Detectives have charged the 17-year-old boy who fatally stabbed gay dancer O’Shae Sibley at a Brooklyn gas station with murder and murder as a hate crime, police sources said Saturday.
On July 29, the suspect and his friends got into an altercation with Sibley, 28, and his group at a Midwood Mobil station after the teens yelled homophobic slurs and said the dancers’ voguing offended their Muslim faith, witnesses told the Daily News after the attack. The dispute ended with Sibley being fatally stabbed.
The teen suspect is expected to be tried in family court, according to police sources.
The teen’s name was not released because of his age. He surrendered to authorities Friday afternoon after a week-long manhunt, cops said.
Witnesses described the confrontation as a clash between a group of Muslim teens and scantily clad gay dancers, witnesses and police sources said.
Sibley was returning from a trip to the Jersey Shore with several friends when they pulled into the gas station on Coney Island Ave. to fill up their tank.
Shirtless and in swim trunks on one of the hottest days of the year, Sibley and his friends were voguing near the gas pumps when the teen and his friends stepped out of the station’s store and yelled out homophobic slurs, cops said.
The group identified themselves as Muslim and said they objected to the performance and to the mini bathing suit one of Sibley’s friends wore, a witness told the Daily News.
A gas station attendant calmed the standoff, much of which was caught on video.
Everything seemed to be over, but tempers flared again when the teen pulled out his phone and began recording Sibley and his friends.
As the two fought, the teen stabbed Sibley, cops said.
Sibley was a prolific dancer, who performed at Lincoln Center and with the Philadelphia Dance Company. He was also a competitive voguer who was part of the House of DuMure-Versailles, which was featured in season three of “Legendary,” HBO’s reality show about voguing competitions.
Otis Pena, Sibley’s best friend for years, recorded a Facebook Live video to describe what happened.
“Y’all murdered him right in front of me,” Pena said. “Just...just pumping gas and listening to `Renaissance’ Just having a good time. Y’all killed O’Shae. Y’all killed him.”
Sibley’s death has shocked LGBTQ groups. “The arrest of a suspect is only one measure of justice for O’Shae and all LGBTQ people who just want to be themselves and be safe,” the advocacy group GLAAD said in a statement.
Dozens of people gathered near the Mobil station at a vigil Friday night in Sibley’s memory.
Another candlelight memorial for Sibley was scheduled for Saturday evening at Manhattan’s LGBTQ Community Center at 208 W. 13th St. in the West Village, followed by a procession to Pier 47 on the Hudson River waterfront, mourners said.
