Deaf, Mute Friends Stabbed at Bar After Sign Language Mistaken for Gang Signs

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP/THE BLAZE) -- Police say two hearing-impaired South Florida men were stabbed at a bar when their sign language was mistaken for gang signs.

Court records show that 45-year-old Barbara Lee and 19-year-old Marco Ibanez are facing aggravated battery charges in the Saturday night attack in Hallandale Beach.

Below is a picture of Alfred Stewart, 31. According to the New York Daily News, Stewart, who is deaf, was parting with his friends "at a bar when a gang-banger mistook their sign language for gang signs."

Lee and Ibanez were jailed Monday and records did not show an attorney for either of them.

Police say the men were using sign language to communicate when Lee allegedly confronted them with complaints they were flashing gang signs.

Police say Lee left and returned with Ibanez and a juvenile and attacked the men, a bystander and a bar bouncer. Police say none of their injuries are life-threatening.