Killing of O’Shae Sibley, who was fatally stabbed while dancing at a Brooklyn gas station, will be prosecuted as a hate crime, prosecutor says
By Samantha Beech, CNN
(CNN) — A 17-year-old has been indicted on a charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime over the killing of O’Shae Sibley, a 28-year-old professional dancer who was stabbed to death at a Brooklyn gas station after dancing to a Beyoncé song.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez did not name the 17-year-old who was indicted Thursday due to the teen’s age, he told reporters outside Brooklyn Supreme Court. The indictment has not yet been publicly released.
Gonzalez said a Brooklyn grand jury heard evidence in the case and returned the indictment of murder in the second degree as a hate crime, in addition to other charges.
Because the murder charge is elevated as a hate crime, the defendant faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 25 years in jail to life if convicted, he said.
CNN has asked the 17-year-old’s legal representative for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
“The death of this young man is both tragic and senseless,” Gonzalez said. “O’Shae and his friends were allegedly targeted, because they were dancing, they were being themselves, dancing joyfully to Beyoncé music at a Brooklyn gas station, harming no one, and refusing to stop even when confronted with anti-Black and homophobic slurs demanding that they stop dancing.”
On July 29, Sibley was approached by a group of men who allegedly began shouting homophobic slurs. An altercation broke out and Sibley was stabbed in the chest. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“The entire community has been victimized by this senseless victimization of Mr. Sibley. This crime, while clearly impacting his family and loved ones, have impacted the entirety of Brooklyn, and the entirety of the city and I dare say the entire nation,” Gonzalez said.
“The allegations made against this 17-year-old are of tremendous import to this city and to this country and I’m assuring the community that we are taking this case very seriously and we’re going to make sure that justice prevails in this case.”
Many witnesses have come forward, according to the DA. “We believe that there were two groups confronting each other and the group that Mr. Sibley was in was the people who were being assailed with anti-gay and anti-Black statements,” Gonzalez said.
The DA refused to answer if any more people would be charged over the incident. He said the 17-year-old is expected to be arraigned in youth court Friday, where he is expected to enter a plea.
“O’Shae came to New York to follow his dream, like many New Yorkers,” Gonzalez said. “He came here, he was a choreographer, he was a dancer, he was here to shine a light on himself and really shine a light on this community and New York City and his light was shut off, he was killed, for senseless reasons that I think have to be addressed.”
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CNN’s Mark Morales contributed to this report.
