Beyoncé paid tribute to O’Shae Sibley after he was stabbed over the weekend. The New York City Police Department is investigating his death as a possible hate crime. The words “REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY” were written by Beyoncé, 41, on her official website.
O’Shae Sibley, who was he?
O’Shae Sibley, a professional dancer, and choreographer, was 28 years old. He was one of his parents’ 11 children.
Prior to moving to Brownsville, Brooklyn in 2020 to pursue career opportunities, Sibley was a member of Philadanco. For the “Vogue 4 #BlackLivesMatter” video project, he joined an all-queer dance group that has already performed at Lincoln Center. Sibley combined artistic aspirations with social change advocacy in his dance performances.
After a fight outside a Mobil gas station in Midwood, Brooklyn, New York, he was stabbed. He and his friends were harassed by some individuals for vogueing and blasting Beyoncé music, which is how the incident began.
Bullies yelled homophobic epithets at them and told them they were disrespecting their religion as they came out of a store, ordering them to stop dancing. Sibley went up to the group and tried to calm things down. But a fight started, and one of the men wound up stabbing Sibley.
A 17-year-old suspect is being sought by the NYPD after being identified as the assailant of the victim. O’Shae was gay, and it’s being looked into whether or not his murder may have been a hate crime. An investigation into the incident’s potential bias is ongoing, a New York City Police Department spokesman told PEOPLE.
One of his friends, Otis Pena, recorded the night out and broadcast it live on Facebook. For treatment of stab wounds to his torso, the dancer was transported to Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn; however, by the time he arrived, he had already been pronounced dead.
“The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, following an attack outside of a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday night,” the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation’s Ailey Extension said on Monday. “O’Shae was loved and devoted to the Ailey Extension program. He was adored by teachers and classmates alike and exuded incredible energy in the studio.
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