Killing of O'Shae Sibley

Background

O'Shae Sibley was a 28-year-old professional dancer and choreographer, born September 1, 1994, and one of eleven siblings. He had trained with Philadanco in Philadelphia since his teenage years before moving to Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 2020 to pursue career opportunities. He performed at Lincoln Center as part of an all-queer dance group for a video project called "Vogue 4 #BlackLivesMatter." Those who knew him said he regularly danced in public, using his skills for both artistic expression and social advocacy.

Incident

On the evening of July 29, 2023, Sibley and a group of friends stopped to refuel their vehicle at a Mobil gas station on Coney Island Avenue in Midwood, Brooklyn, after a day at the Jersey Shore celebrating a friend's birthday. While Sibley and his friends played Beyoncé's "Renaissance" and vogued, a group of people—including then-17-year-old Dmitry Popov—exited the station's convenience store and approached them, telling them to stop dancing while making homophobic slurs and racist statements, and accusing them of offending their religion. A witness quoted a member of the group saying, "we're Muslim, I don't want you dancing," though Popov was later reported to be Christian. Sibley confronted the group in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, and an argument followed during which Popov stabbed Sibley. Sibley sustained a stab wound to the torso and, after receiving first aid from friends, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. A friend who was present, Otis Pena, said in a video posted to Facebook that Sibley was killed "because he was gay, because he stood up for his friends." A GoFundMe campaign was created by Sibley's father to fund his funeral, which was held in Philadelphia on August 8, 2023.

Investigation and legal proceedings

Surveillance footage reportedly showed a teenager fighting Sibley prior to the stabbing. The suspect turned himself in to police with his attorney on August 4, 2023. He was charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon, held without bail, pleaded not guilty, and was charged as an adult. In 2026, a Brooklyn jury found Popov, by then 20, guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, facing 20 to 25 years imprisonment, but acquitted him of murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30, 2026.

Reactions

New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the stabbing a hate crime and vowed to find the perpetrator. LGBTQ lawmakers and activists, including State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, condemned the killing. Beyoncé, whose music was playing during the incident, paid tribute to Sibley on her website. Spike Lee, the gay bar Club Cumming, and ballroom communities in Los Angeles and New York also paid tribute, staging protests and vigils. On August 3, 2023, Sibley was honored by mourners at the Stonewall Inn, and on August 4, 2023, hundreds gathered at a vigil titled "Vogue as an Act of Resistance" at the site of his death.