Muslim teen eyed in suspected anti-gay stabbing death of NYC dancer who was ‘vogueing’
New York Post (archive.ph)
By Joe Marino and Snejana Farberov
2023-07-31 22:22:01GMT
A man stabbed to death in a suspected anti-gay attack in Brooklyn was remembered as a talented, promising dancer Monday — as law enforcement sources said a 17-year-old high school student is being eyed in the crime.
O’Shae Sibley, 28, was allegedly attacked for “vogueing” — or performing a stylized modern dance routine — to Beyoncé’s hit “Renaissance” outside a gas station in Coney Island Saturday night, according to a pal who said he was present during the stabbing.
“They hated us cause we are gay!” Otis Pena, one of Sibley’s friends, fumed in a Facebook post, sharing grisly photos from the slaying. “[They were] screaming we Muslim and we don’t like gays!!!!! As we are innocently pumping gas and ya’ll decided to stab on one of us!!!”
Sibley was killed during a brawl that broke out between two groups of men around 11 p.m. at a Mobil gas station on Coney Island Avenue — which was caught on surveillance video obtained by The Post. The case is being investigated as a possible hate crime, police have said.
Sources on Monday said cops were looking for a 17-year-old boy who was captured on surveillance footage fighting with Sibley before he was stabbed in the chest, and then taking off in a black SUV.
The suspected killer, who was said to be Muslim, allegedly told Sibley and his pals that he was offended because they had been dancing shirtless in their swimming trunks, sources previously said.
Sibley was a multitalented dancer and choreographer who had moved from Philadelphia to New York City to pursue a career in the arts. Credit: Sage O. Dumure Versailles/Facebook
In a Facebook Live video, Pena said that he, Sibley and some other friends were driving home after celebrating his birthday at the beach, when they decided to stop at the Mobil station located just two blocks from his house.
Pena said Sibley, his best friend of 15 years and “brother,” was killed in front of him.
“I’m trying to put pressure on the wound, and there’s blood squirting everywhere,” the anguished friend said, describing the harrowing scene.
“Happy birthday to me, right?”
Pena uploaded distressing images showing his hand coated in his butchered friend’s blood, and even more gore staining the ground where Sibley had been knifed to death.
Sibley, who moved to New York City three years ago to pursue a career in the arts, was a dancer and choreographer who took part in the Ailey Extension program, the studio said.
“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.
“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.”
His aunt Tondra Sibley told Gothamist that her nephew was a “gentle spirit” who relocated to the Big Apple from his native Philadelphia in 2019 and was close to his family, including his mother and brother.
He had been looking forward to go on a trip to Disney World with his father this week, she said.
“Everyone that knew him knew that he was always smiling…he loved people, he loved dancing, he loved teaching dance,” she said.
The aunt called her nephew’s murder “senseless” and demanded justice for him.
“Why would a person feel they have the right [to kill] just because they disagree with them?” she wondered.
Last year, Sibley was part of “An Eclectic Dance to the Music of Time” — a video project by contemporary artist Jacolby Satterwhite that was featured in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall.
He starred in six music video directed by his long-time friend and collaborator Kemar Jewel, who’d known Sibley from age 16 and came up with him in the black and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture known as the Ballroom scene.
“He was a bright eyed and goofy young man who had talent beyond anything I’d seen before,” Jewel wrote on Facebook. “He could sing, he could do hip hop, jazz, ballet, tap, anddddddd he was an incredible voguer! That’s how we became close.”
Jewel, the founder and creative director at JewelBox Productions, said that because Sibley was so versatile, he was always eager to showcase his protege’s skills as a dancer and choreographer in his various projects.
In 2021, Sibley was featured in Jewel’s 7-minute dance video titled “SOFT: A Love Letter to Black Queer Men,” billed 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.”
While he still lived in Philadelphia, Sibley danced with the prestigious Philadelphia Dance Company, better known as Philadanco, which is renowned for preserving African-American traditions in dance.
“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 said that a few years ago, he and Sibley had found out that they were distant relatives.
“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,” Jewel recalled, adding that Sibley was “the closest thing to family” he ever had.
Chilling video from the gas station obtained by The Post showed the brawl that erupted with the group of men who encountered Sibley and his companions there.
The two sides exchanged words, before the dispute turned physical after a brief lull.
Sibley, dressed in neon-pink swimming trunks, is seen standing behind a black SUV seemingly in shock after being knifed.
He disappears from view as his friends and bystanders rush to his side — and the assailants begin to flee.
Sibley was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, but he could not be saved.
As of Monday, no arrests have been made in the deadly attack.
New York Post (archive.ph)
By Joe Marino and Snejana Farberov
2023-07-31 22:22:01GMT
A man stabbed to death in a suspected anti-gay attack in Brooklyn was remembered as a talented, promising dancer Monday — as law enforcement sources said a 17-year-old high school student is being eyed in the crime.
O’Shae Sibley, 28, was allegedly attacked for “vogueing” — or performing a stylized modern dance routine — to Beyoncé’s hit “Renaissance” outside a gas station in Coney Island Saturday night, according to a pal who said he was present during the stabbing.
“They hated us cause we are gay!” Otis Pena, one of Sibley’s friends, fumed in a Facebook post, sharing grisly photos from the slaying. “[They were] screaming we Muslim and we don’t like gays!!!!! As we are innocently pumping gas and ya’ll decided to stab on one of us!!!”
Sibley was killed during a brawl that broke out between two groups of men around 11 p.m. at a Mobil gas station on Coney Island Avenue — which was caught on surveillance video obtained by The Post. The case is being investigated as a possible hate crime, police have said.
Sources on Monday said cops were looking for a 17-year-old boy who was captured on surveillance footage fighting with Sibley before he was stabbed in the chest, and then taking off in a black SUV.
The suspected killer, who was said to be Muslim, allegedly told Sibley and his pals that he was offended because they had been dancing shirtless in their swimming trunks, sources previously said.
Sibley was a multitalented dancer and choreographer who had moved from Philadelphia to New York City to pursue a career in the arts. Credit: Sage O. Dumure Versailles/Facebook
In a Facebook Live video, Pena said that he, Sibley and some other friends were driving home after celebrating his birthday at the beach, when they decided to stop at the Mobil station located just two blocks from his house.
Pena said Sibley, his best friend of 15 years and “brother,” was killed in front of him.
“I’m trying to put pressure on the wound, and there’s blood squirting everywhere,” the anguished friend said, describing the harrowing scene.
“Happy birthday to me, right?”
Pena uploaded distressing images showing his hand coated in his butchered friend’s blood, and even more gore staining the ground where Sibley had been knifed to death.
Sibley, who moved to New York City three years ago to pursue a career in the arts, was a dancer and choreographer who took part in the Ailey Extension program, the studio said.
“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.
“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.”
His aunt Tondra Sibley told Gothamist that her nephew was a “gentle spirit” who relocated to the Big Apple from his native Philadelphia in 2019 and was close to his family, including his mother and brother.
He had been looking forward to go on a trip to Disney World with his father this week, she said.
“Everyone that knew him knew that he was always smiling…he loved people, he loved dancing, he loved teaching dance,” she said.
The aunt called her nephew’s murder “senseless” and demanded justice for him.
“Why would a person feel they have the right [to kill] just because they disagree with them?” she wondered.
Last year, Sibley was part of “An Eclectic Dance to the Music of Time” — a video project by contemporary artist Jacolby Satterwhite that was featured in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall.
He starred in six music video directed by his long-time friend and collaborator Kemar Jewel, who’d known Sibley from age 16 and came up with him in the black and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture known as the Ballroom scene.
“He was a bright eyed and goofy young man who had talent beyond anything I’d seen before,” Jewel wrote on Facebook. “He could sing, he could do hip hop, jazz, ballet, tap, anddddddd he was an incredible voguer! That’s how we became close.”
Jewel, the founder and creative director at JewelBox Productions, said that because Sibley was so versatile, he was always eager to showcase his protege’s skills as a dancer and choreographer in his various projects.
In 2021, Sibley was featured in Jewel’s 7-minute dance video titled “SOFT: A Love Letter to Black Queer Men,” billed 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.”
While he still lived in Philadelphia, Sibley danced with the prestigious Philadelphia Dance Company, better known as Philadanco, which is renowned for preserving African-American traditions in dance.
“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 said that a few years ago, he and Sibley had found out that they were distant relatives.
“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,” Jewel recalled, adding that Sibley was “the closest thing to family” he ever had.
Chilling video from the gas station obtained by The Post showed the brawl that erupted with the group of men who encountered Sibley and his companions there.
The two sides exchanged words, before the dispute turned physical after a brief lull.
Sibley, dressed in neon-pink swimming trunks, is seen standing behind a black SUV seemingly in shock after being knifed.
He disappears from view as his friends and bystanders rush to his side — and the assailants begin to flee.
Sibley was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, but he could not be saved.
As of Monday, no arrests have been made in the deadly attack.
