In a case of tragic miscommunication, a deaf man in Burlington, North Carolina was stabbed multiple times on Wednesday after his use of sign language was misunderstood as gang signage.

The man, 45-year-old Terrance Daniels, was speaking with another man in sign language, when 22-year-old Robert Neal approached him and stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Police caught Neal a few hours later and charged the young man with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury, and felony assault on a handicap.

Burlignton Police staff Sgt. Mark Yancey made the statement that Neal mistook Daniels' sign for gang signs, but also added that Neal is not a member of a gang.

Emergency services got to Daniels quickly and he is in stable condition.

Source: gawker.com