Brooklyn man who was vogueing at a gas station fatally stabbed in possible anti-gay hate crime, police say

By Jessica Xing and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN

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

The 28-year-old man was fatally stabbed at a Brooklyn gas station Saturday night in what police are investigating as a possible anti-gay hate crime, an NYPD spokesperson told CNN.

O’Shae Sibley was dancing – vogueing – to a Beyoncé song with friends at the gas station when a group of men approached them and started to shout gay slurs at them, Sibley’s friend Otis Pena said on Facebook Live. The anti-gay slurs eventually led to a dispute, the NYPD spokesperson said.

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

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

“The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, following an attack outside of a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday night,” the dance studio of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation, Ailey Extension, said in a statement Monday. “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.”

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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CNN’s Brynn Gingras contributed to this report.