WTF Florida? Two Deaf Men Stabbed After Sign Language Mistaken for Gang Signs
Alfred Stewart, age 31, was celebrating his birthday with his other deaf friends at Ocean’s Eleven Sports Lounge and Grill when Barbara Lee, age 45, thought they were making gang signs at her. She approached the party and made gang signs at them. They motioned for the “aggressive” woman to stop bothering them, which, considering…
By Dan Hoffman
In another WTF, Florida? incident that occurred last Saturday night, two deaf men were stabbed at a Hallandale Beach bar when their sign language was mistaken for gang code.
Alfred Stewart, age 31, was celebrating his birthday with his other deaf friends at Ocean’s Eleven Sports Lounge and Grill when Barbara Lee, age 45, thought they were making gang signs at her. She approached the party and made gang signs at them. They motioned for the “aggressive” woman to stop bothering them, which, considering the nature of the event, probably only made things worse.
Lee left the bar and came back with a unnamed juvenile and 19-year-old Marco Ibanez, who is accused of having stabbed both Stewart and his friend, Sean Shuland.
In the resulting brawl, in addition to Shuland and Stewart, a bouncer was injured when a bottle was smashed over his head.
Lee and Ibanez were both arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. 
