Stabbing death of O'Shea Sibley will be prosecuted as hate crime, DA says

Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The stabbing death of O'Shea Sibley outside a gas station in New York City last month will be prosecuted as a hate crime, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Thursday.

"O'Shea and his friends were allegedly targeted because they were being themselves, dancing joyfully to Beyonce music at a Brooklyn gas station, harming no one and refusing to stop even when confronted with anti-Black and homophobic slurs demanding that they stop dancing," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez made his remarks during a news conference shared online by the district attorney's office in which he announced a grand jury had handed up an indictment for Sibley's murder.

"The death of this young man is both tragic and senseless," Gonzalez said. "We have decided to prosecute this case as a hate crime and we are moving forward in a joint prosecution in the homicide bureau and the hate crimes bureau."

Gonzalez said prosecutors have attended vigils for the victim and visited his family in Philadelphia for his funeral.

"We promised the family we would have a vigorous and thorough prosecution to hold this offender, who is 17 years old, accountable for his deadly deeds on that day," Gonzalez said. The suspect has not been identified because he is a minor.

Gonzelez added, "The entire community has been victimized."

In security camera footage from the gas station, the 28-year-old Sibley can be seen confronting and lunging at the teenage suspect who was recording the group on his phone. Gonzalez said defending yourself from hateful comments is not just cause for another to take out a weapon.

"The gay and queer communities in our country feel particularly vulnerable at this time," Gonzalez said. "There are many laws being passed in many states that seem to target the LGBTQ community and I think is responsible for increasing rhetoric of hate towards this community."

The suspect's charges include second-degree murder as a hate crime, along with other counts. Because it has been elevated as a hate crime, the suspect faces a minimum of 20 years in prison to a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.