On Saturday night, O’Shae Sibley, a gay man, was stabbed to death at a Brooklyn gas station. He was voguing to Beyoncé’s music with his friends while filling up their car when a group of men approached them hurling homophobic slurs. The situation escalated and one of the men viciously stabbed Sibley. Sibley was then taken to Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
“The incident is being investigated as a possible biased incident,” a spokesman for the New York City Police Department told PEOPLE. No arrests have been made.
Beyoncé paid tribute to Sibley by posting “REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY,” on her official website.
Sibley was a professional dancer and choreographer. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation’s Ailey Extension said in a statement, “The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, following an attack outside of a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday night. O’Shae was a cherished and devoted Ailey Extension student. He had incredible energy in the studio and was loved by instructors and fellow classmates.”
GLAAD released a statement on Tuesday, calling Sibley’s death part of a “disturbing rise in violence and harassment” against the LGBTQ + community. Beyoncé has been a longtime ally. In March 2019, Beyoncé and husband JAY-Z were honored as LGBTQ Allies at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Beyoncé’s Renaissance album was dedicated to her Uncle Johnny, a gay man, who she said was her “godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album.”
Anyone with information about Sibley’s death is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
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