Teen charged with dancer’s murder

The 17-year-old boy suspected of fatally stabbing dancer O’Shae Sibley at a Midwood gas station surrendered to police Friday, according to ABC News.

The teen, whose name has not been released, was charged with murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon. Sibley was black and gay.

Sibley and his friends drove to the Mobil station on Coney Island Avenue and Avenue P at around 11 p.m. on July 29, according to the New York Times. While dancing to music playing from their car, they came into conflict with a group of males who allegedly objected to their behavior. A fight broke out and Sibley, 28, was stabbed in the torso. He was pronounced dead at Maimonides Medical Center.

“They murdered him because he’s gay, and because he stood up for his friends,” Sibley’s friend Otis Pena said in a Facebook video. “I tried to put pressure on the wound and there was blood squirting everywhere. They killed him.”

According to the New York Post, Pena also said, “[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!!!”

Singer Beyoncé – whose music Sibley was reportedly dancing to when the confrontation began – posted the message “Rest in power, O’Shae Sibley” on her website. 

Sibley’s memorial service was held Aug. 8 at the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia. Burial took place at Fernwood Cemetery in Lansdowne, Pa.