The 17-year-old suspected of fatally stabbing of Black queer dancer O’Shae Sibley a week ago, has been charged with murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York Police Department officials and community leaders spoke at a public press conference held at the location of the deadly stabbing in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood detailing the charges brought in the case.
Adams told those gathered that “[Sibley’s] parents have lost a child in something that was clearly a hate crime.” The mayor then thanked the NYPD reflecting that the apprehension of the teenager was made possible by the contributions of “everyday New Yorkers” in aiding the NYPD with information and tips.
The mayor then addressed the fact that initially it seemed “that the hate was coming from the Muslim community against the LGBTQ+ community — that was in fact not true,” Adams said. “These are both important communities in the City of New York, they contribute to the community, … and both are against any level of hate.” He then pointed out that both of those minority communities have been targeted by hate. “They have been united in fighting any form of hate in this city,” the mayor added.
“This is a city where you are free to express yourself, and that expression should never end with any form of violence,” Adams said.
After the mayor’s remarks, NYPD Assistant Chief of the Detective Bureau Joseph E. Kenny took to the podium and summarized the case facts.
“As the group began to yell at Sibley and his friends, they began to call them derogatory names and used homophobic slurs against him,” Kenny said. “They also made anti-Black statements, all while demanding that they simply stop dancing.”
“This encounter lasts for approximately four minutes, when the victim and the known perpetrator come together,” Kenny continued. “This perpetrator retreats away from Sibley, while striking him one time with a sharp object, piercing his chest and damaging his heart. Sibley falls to the sidewalk while the perpetrator flees the scene in a Toyota Highlander.”
Kenny noted the 17-year-old suspect’s identification happened “quickly,” saying he lives in Brooklyn and is a student at a “nearby high school.”
Kenny said that the apprehension was a joint effort by NYPD’s fugitive task force and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Regional Task Force. The 17-year-old was charged under New York Penal Law § 125.25: Murder in the second degree with a hate crime enhancement, he’s also being charged with criminal possession of a weapon and has been remanded into custody.
The Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association.
RELATED
