A 17-year-old teenager has been charged with murder as a hate crime for the fatal stabbing of O’Shae Sibley, 28, a gay Black man who was voguing at a New York City gas station before his death, the NYPD announced Saturday. Police said Sibley was returning to his home in Brooklyn with four friends when they stopped at a gas station. The group began blasting Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album and dancing, according to officials, and a group of men approached them demanding they stop. NYPD assistant chief Joseph Kenny said the dispute soon turned physical, with the men shouting homophobic slurs and anti-Black comments at Sibley. Even though the men eventually dispersed, the suspect allegedly stayed behind and stabbed Sibley in the chest, “damaging his heart,” Kenny said. Sibley was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital that night. The suspect, who police did not name, turned himself in to authorities and now faces charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Beyoncé’ is paying tribute to Sibley with a note on her website reading, “REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY.” About 100 gathered at the gas station Friday in a defiant vigil to honor Sibley, waving pride flags and dancing.
