Sunday, May 1, 2011

ASL Mistaken for Gang Signs

Two deaf men are recovering from a knife attack that started last night when someone mistook their use of sign language for gang signs. The men were celebrating a birthday at the Ocean's Eleven Lounge in Miami, but a woman, Barbara Lee, thought the group was making gang signs in her direction. She confronted the group and although they motioned for her to leave them alone, she failed to recognize they were using sign language. Lee left the bar and came back with two men including Marco Ibanez, who stabbed two of the men. A bouncer and another man were injured in the melee. See a video about the incident from WSVN-TV here.