Teen charged with hate crime in New York City stabbing death of O'Shae Sibley
A 17-year-old high school student has been arrested on hate crime charges in connection with last weekend's stabbing death of a professional dancer during a dispute at a New York City gas station.
The teen, whose name was not released, was taken into custody Friday on charges of second-degree murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon in the slaying of 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley, officials announced in a news conference Saturday.
In the late-night hours of July 29, Sibley, who is gay, was dancing with friends to a Beyoncé song while pumping gas at a Brooklyn station when he and his friends were confronted by another group, officials said.
The altercation was captured on security video.
"Recovered video showed the victim and his friends being confronted by a group of males and being harassed," NYPD Assistant Police Chief Joe Kenny told reporters Saturday.
"We can see on the video a heated verbal dispute quickly turns physical," Kenny said.
Kenny disclosed that the group demanded that Sibley "stop dancing," and "called him derogatory names, and used homophobic slurs against him. They also made anti-Black statements, all while demanding that they simply stop dancing."
The harassment continued for about four minutes. The suspect then stabbed Sibley once in the chest with a "sharp object." Sibley fell to the ground as the suspect fled in a Toyota Highlander.
Sibley was rushed to a local hospital, where he died of his wounds in the early morning hours of July 30.
The suspect, who attends a Brooklyn high school, was "quickly identified" by authorities, Kenny said, and his surrender was "arranged through his attorney."
Kenny said the suspect "is being charged solely" at this time, with no immediate plans to charge the others that were in his group.
In a Facebook Live video earlier this week, Otis Pena said that he was friends with Sibley and witnessed the stabbing.
"They killed my brother right in front of me," he said.
"Just pumping gas and listening to 'Renaissance' and just having a good time. Y'all killed O'Shae," Pena said through tears, referring to Beyoncé's latest album.
Sibley was a well-known dancer in the ballroom community, which is made up predominantly of LGBTQ+ men of color, CBS New York reports. An outpouring of support for Sibley and his family has been widespread, with Beyoncé herself posting about Sibley's death on her website.
"This is a city where you are free to express yourself, and that expression should never end with any form of violence," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday.
A rally honoring Sibley was held Friday at the Brooklyn gas station where he was stabbed. A memorial and candlelight vigil organized by the LGBTQ+ community was also being held Saturday night.