Beyoncé honors dancer stabbed to death at Brooklyn gas station while dancing to her music

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Jessica Xing and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN

(CNN) — Beyoncé has paid tribute to O’Shae Sibley, a 28-year-old professional dancer who was fatally stabbed at a Brooklyn gas station while vogueing to her music in what police say they are investigating as an anti-gay hate crime.

“REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY,” reads a message displayed prominently on Beyoncé’s official website. Sibley was vogueing to a Beyoncé song at the gas station on Saturday night.

A group of men approached Sibley as he danced with friends and started to shout gay slurs at the group, Sibley’s friend Otis Pena said on Facebook Live.

The slurs eventually led to a dispute, an NYPD spokesperson told CNN.

The argument escalated and a man stabbed Sibley, said Pena, who witnessed the incident and put pressure on Sibley’s wound. Sibley, who was stabbed in the torso, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

Police are searching for a 17-year-old they believe is responsible for the stabbing death of the Brooklyn man, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

Sibley was a professional dancer who was featured in several music videos and had performed at New York City’s renowned Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, according to the center’s website.

Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a New York state senator, tweeted about the incident Monday, saying he was “heartbroken and enraged” to learn about Sibley’s death.

“Despite homophobes’ best efforts, gay joy is not a crime. Hate-fueled attacks are,” the senator, who is gay, tweeted.

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