A group of hearing-impaired men were recovering May 2 after being stabbed during a night out in Florida when a fellow patron confused their sign language for gang signs.
Alfred Stewart, 31, was at the Ocean's Eleven Lounge in Hallandale Beach to celebrate a friend's birthday with a group of friends, all of whom are deaf, NBC Miami reported.
The group was communicating using sign language, but a woman at the bar thought the group was making gang signs in her direction.
According to police, 45-year-old Barbara Lee became angry and confronted the group, but they motioned for her to leave them alone.
She then left the bar, before returning with two others - including 19-year-old Marco Ibanez.
Mr Ibanez allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Mr Stewart, two of his friends and a bouncer, during a confrontation at the club.
Mr Stewart's mother, Brenda Stewart, said her son was not making gang signs.
"Only sign language," she told WSVN. "That's the only way [for] all of them, they do sign language."
"They all were doing hand signs, and it went as if someone thought it was a gang sign," she added.
Mr Lee and Mr Ibanez were both charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
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Sunday, May 1, 2011
In Florida, deaf men stabbed when ASL was mistaken for gang signs
From NewsCore: