Beyonce honors dancer O'Shae Sibley after stabbing death investigated as hate crime
UPDATE: Philadanco! mourns dancer O'Shae Sibley
NEW YORK (CBS) -- Artists and loved ones are mourning O'Shae Sibley, a dancer with ties to Philadelphia who was fatally stabbed in Brooklyn over the weekend.
The New York Police Department is investigating the death of Sibley, a gay man, as a possible hate crime.
Police and loved ones say the 28-year-old Sibley was dancing and vogueing while he and his friends were filling up at a Brooklyn gas station Saturday.
"They were dancing," neighbor Beckenbaur Hamilton told CBS New York. "They were filling up on gas, but they were voguing."
Witnesses told the station they were dancing when a man walked up to them and made homophobic comments. In surveillance video, Sibley is seen arguing with a man.
Police said Sibley was stabbed after that argument.
Sibley had moved from Philadelphia to New York to further his dancing career. Neighbors and friends told CBS New York Sibley often danced in public.
"Homophobia and words can lead to ideologies and thoughts," friend Kemar Jewel said. "And those thoughts can lead into actions. And those are the type of actions that took O'Shae away from this world."
Another friend Otis Pena said on a Facebook Live, "O'Shae was a beacon of light that just influenced everybody."
Sibley's death is resonating in the worlds of music and dance as well as the LGBTQ+ community.
The top of Beyonce's official website displayed a tribute to Sibley Wednesday.
"Rest in power O'Shae Sibley," it read in white text on a black background.
Philadelphia dance organization Philadanco said Sibley had been involved with them since he was a teenager.
Philadanco issued a statement on Sibley's death:
Philadanco would like to send our sincere Condolences to the family and loved ones of O'Shae Sibley. O'Shae was a student of the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts at Philadanco since the age of 14 and was also in our Apprentice Company D/2. This news is absolutely heartbreaking and we believe no one deserves to be targeted for simply being themselves and living in their truth. We are keeping high hopes that Justice will be served. He will be missed dearly. We ask that you also keep his family and loved ones in your prayers.
NYPD is still searching for the suspect, who was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and red shorts.
