As has been reported, on Saturday night 28 year-old O’Shae Sibley was vogueing with a group of friends at a Brooklyn gas station while listening to Beyoncé, when a group of men approached him, shouting slurs and telling him to stop. The anti-gay slurs eventually led to a dispute resulting in Sibley being fatally stabbed.
Sibley’s friend, Otis Pena, witnessed the incident and spoke about it on Facebook Live hours after his friend’s death, saying he went to Sibley’s aid and put pressure on his wound. Pena also shared that Sibley, who was a professional dancer featured in several music videos and also performed at New York City’s renowned Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, told the men that there “is nothing wrong with being gay.”
“They murdered him because he’s gay, because he stood up for his friends,” Pena said. “His name was O’Shae and you all killed him.”
“O’Shae was just a beacon of light that just influenced everybody,” added Pena, who called O’Shae his brother. “We may be gay, but we exist. We’re not going to live in fear. We’re not going to live hiding.”
Police have reported that Sibley was stabbed in the torso and was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Following the news of his death, Beyoncé’s website paid tribute to Sibley with the words, “Rest in Power O’Shae Sibley,” displayed across the homepage of the singer’s site
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“Heartbroken and enraged to learn about O’Shae Sibley’s death this weekend in New York. Despite homophobes’ best efforts, gay joy is not crime,” New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Signal wrote on social media on Monday. “Hate-fueled attacks are.”
The police have stated that the hate crimes unit was involved in the investigation, and while no arrests have been made at this point, they are searching for a 17-year-old they believe is responsible for the stabbing death of O’Shae Sibley.
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