Friends and family of NYC stabbing victim hold memorial
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Friends and family members of O'Shae Sibley held a memorial, vigil and march to celebrate the dancer's life on Saturday.
"I hate that I have to speak about my brother in the past tense, because he did not deserve this. He got killed for being comfortable and confident in who he was. Nobody, nobody deserves that," said Desire Sibley, Sibley's sister.
Sibley, a gay Black man, was fatally stabbed on July 29 in a hate-fueled confrontation at a gas station. On Saturday, hundreds turned out to honor the 28-year-old dancer in a tribute ceremony at The Center, an LGBTQ+ community space in the West Village.
"It's a very tragic thing to happen to such a young person. To be 28 and to be murdered like that is heinous. It's unacceptable and they need to be held accountable, everyone responsible. The people who witnessed, the people who stood there and did nothing - they could've helped. They could've stopped this murder from happening," said Queen Jean, a friend of Sibley's.
The group then marched to Pier 46 for a vigil, chanting Sibley's name along the way. Earlier that day, Mayor Eric Adams visited that gas station where Sibley was stabbed, now the site of a growing memorial. This all came one day after the unidentified 17-year-old suspect turned himself into the authorities. The Brooklyn High School student is now charged with murder as a hate crime.
"It's a testament that hatred is learned. Hatred is truly something that grows in the home. The people we love tell us who to hate. So, we know that that is an ongoing crisis of hatred," Queen Jean expressed.
