Beyoncé has paid tribute to a professional dancer who was fatally stabbed after dancing to her music.
Page Six reports that the incident happened on Saturday night (July 29) when O’Shae Sibley was allegedly attacked when a group of friends stopped at a Mobil gas station in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Coney Island to fill up their tank. As they waited, Sibley started vogueing to Beyoncé’s recent album Renaissance.
A group of men approached them and allegedly asked them to stop vogueing. According to surveillance footage obtained by the New York Post, a brawl reportedly broke out at 11pm between the two groups.
After his death, Beyoncé went to her official website yesterday (August 1) to write: “REST IN POWER O’SHEA SIBLEY.”
Sibley was a member of the modern dance company Ailey Extension and performed at Lincoln Center.
The organization released a statement saying: “We are shocked and heartbroken that O’Shae’s life has been taken by senseless violence and extend our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Sibley’s father, Jake Kelly, has started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Sibley’s funeral costs.
While no arrests have been made, police are investigating the stabbing as a possible hate crime.
The NYPD asks anyone with information to contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
