Burlington Police Sgt. Mark Yancey said 45-year-old Terrance Ervin Daniels was using sign language with another deaf man. He said a third person saw them, thought they were flashing gang signs and stabbed Daniels with a kitchen knife. A neighbor saw the victim and called emergency personnel.
Daniels is in stable condition at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill after Wednesday's incident.
Police arrested 22-year Robert Jarell Neal and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and felony assault on a handicapped person. He's being held in the Alamance County jail. It's not known if Neal has an attorney.