On Monday, a man widely regarded as a great and promising dancer was fatally stabbed in Brooklyn, and police are now searching for a 17-year-old high school student they believe to be involved. O’Shae Sibley, 28, was reportedly stabbed to death on Saturday night while “vogueing” to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” outside a gas station in Coney Island, according to a witness.
“They hated us because we are gay!” Sibley’s buddy Otis Pena vented his frustration online by posting graphic images of the murder scene. “[They were] shouting we’re Muslim and anti-gay!!!!!! While we were only pumping gas, you went and stabbed one of us! The Post received surveillance footage of the fight that resulted in Sibley’s death at the Mobil gas station on Coney Island Avenue at around 11 p.m.
Police have stated that they are considering this incident as a probable hate crime. On Monday, law enforcement sources claimed they were trying to locate a 17-year-old teenager seen fighting with Sibley before he was stabbed in the chest and then fleeing in a black SUV from the scene.
The tweet below verifies the news:
Muslim teen eyed in suspected anti-gay stabbing death of NYC dancer who was ‘vogueing’ https://t.co/pgFO6cXkQ4 via @nypmetro
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) August 1, 2023
According to prior reports, the Muslim defendant in this case allegedly told Sibley and his friends that he was outraged by their shirtless dancing in their swim trunks.
Pena claimed in a Facebook Live video that he, Sibley, and some other friends were on their way home from a beach birthday celebration when they stopped at the Mobil station two blocks from his home. According to Pena, his “brother,” a buddy of 15 years named Sibley, was murdered in front of him.
“I’m trying to put pressure on the wound, and there’s blood squirting everywhere,” the distraught buddy stated. “Happy birthday to me, right?” Pena posted graphic photos of his hand covered in his friend’s blood and the blood-spattered floor near where Sibley was stabbed to death.
Sibley, who had been in New York for three years pursuing an artistic career, had participated in the Ailey Extension program, the studio reported. “The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, who was a cherished and devoted participant in our Ailey Extension program of dance classes,” the studio said in a statement.
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“O’Shae had incredible energy in the studio and was loved by instructors and fellow students. He recently shone during a special demonstration of West African dance at The Ailey Spirit Gala,” the statement said. “We are shocked and heartbroken that O’Shae’s life has been taken by senseless violence, and extend our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Tondra Sibley, his aunt, told Gothamist that her nephew, who moved to New York City from Philadelphia in 2019, was a “gentle spirit” who was very close to his mother and brother. She revealed that he was anticipating a trip to Disney World with his dad this week. “Everyone that knew him knew that he was always smiling…he loved people, he loved dancing, he loved teaching dance,” she said.
The aunt cried foul over the “senseless” killing of her nephew and asked that he be vindicated. “Why would a person feel they have the right [to kill] just because they disagree with them?” she wondered. Sibley appeared in a video installation by contemporary artist Jacolby Satterwhite titled “An Eclectic Dance to the Music of Time” in 2017 at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall.
Kemar Jewel, who has known Sibley since he was 16 and who also emerged with him in the black and Latinx underground LGBTQ+ subculture known as the Ballroom scene, filmed six music videos in which he appears. “He was a bright eyed and goofy young man who had talent beyond anything I’d seen before,” Jewel said of him on Facebook.
He was an outstanding voguer, a great singer, and he could do hip-hop, jazz, ballet, and tap. And that’s how we bonded.” Jewel, the company’s founder and creative director, has claimed that Sibley’s versatility as a dancer and choreographer made him keen to feature him in many of JewelBox Productions’ works.
In 2021, Sibley appeared in Jewel’s 7-minute dance video “SOFT: A Love Letter to Black Queer Men,” which was described as a “visual love letter” that uses contemporary dance “to help Black Queer men heal from trauma, connect as a community, and serve as a reminder to be SOFT with themselves and each other.”
Sibley danced with Philadanco, the famed Philadelphia Dance Company noted for maintaining African-American dance traditions, while he was still a resident of Philadelphia.
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“Anyone who ever met O’Shae was very blessed to know him,” Jewel wrote. “He was funny, unique, charismatic and always knew how to have a good time. Most importantly, he loved HARD!!! He went above and beyond for his loved ones and made sure no one was ever sad around him.”
The choreographer claimed that he and Sibley had discovered their shared ancestry a few years ago. Jewel recalled, “I remember O’Shae’s face when he found out, he was so happy that a bond that was made up was now cemented in real life,” calling Sibley “the closest thing to family” he ever had.
The Post discovered chilling surveillance footage of the gas station confrontation between Sibley and the group of men he encountered there. After a brief respite in the fighting, the two sides resumed their verbal exchange. Neon-pink swim trunk-clad Sibley is seen standing behind a black SUV, seemingly in disbelief after being stabbed.
As his companions and onlookers come to his aid and the attackers begin to flee, he vanishes from sight. Despite everyone’s best efforts, Sibley could not be revived at the Maimonides Medical Center. As of Monday, no suspects in the horrific incident had been apprehended.
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