At the end of July, professional choreographer and dancer O’Shae Sibley was stabbed to death at a gas station. According to reports, Sibley and his friends were heading back home to Brooklyn, playing Beyonce's Renaissance in their vehicle, when a group of men demanded that they stop. The stabbing took place following a dispute surrounding Sibley's dancing at the time. The verbal altercation quickly escalated, and later turned physical. Footage of the incident reveals that the men demanding that Sibley stop dancing had been shouting homophobic and racist remarks at Sibley and his friends.
Eventually, one 17-year-old who has not been named by police stabbed Sibley, "damaging his heart.” Witnesses claim that he then got into a vehicle and drove away. It has now been reported that the 17-year-old responsible for the death of Sibley has been charged second degree murder as a hate crime. He's additionally been charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Shortly after reports of the Beyonce fan's death and subsequent statements from his loved ones, people began to deem the attack as homophobic.
O’Shae Sibley's Murder Deemed A Hate Crime
Otis Pena, a friend of Sibley's, spoke on the attack shortly after news broke. “They murdered him because he’s gay, because he stood up for his friends," he explained. "His name was O’Shae and you all killed him. O’Shae was just a beacon of light that just influenced everybody. We may be gay, but we exist. We’re not going to live in fear. We’re not going to live hiding.”
The tragedy sparked an outpouring of support from other Beyonce fans, as well as Beyonce herself. Earlier this month, Beyonce paid her respects to the fallen member of the Beyhive, posting a tribute to him on her website. "Rest in power O'Shae Sibley," her statement reads. Though the pain this has caused to Sibley's loved ones cannot be undone, hopefully his murderer being put to justice can help them find some closure.
