DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – A South Florida mother said she was furious Tuesday when her 14-year-old son came home from school with what she called a "jailhouse-style tattoo" on his hand.
The woman's son is a freshman at Deerfield Beach High School. He had told her he wanted to get a tattoo, but she said she had warned him not to get one.
Then, on Tuesday, Tre came home with the letters "DC" permanently inked on his hand.
"I mean, I just don't condone the whole tattoo thing. He's only 14," Sherrell Buckmon said.
The worst part, Buckmon said, is that it happened on school property only a little while after classes ended for the day.
According to Tre, another freshman at the school was advertising tattooing services on Instagram and said that she had tattoo needles and ink. So he decided to take her up on the offer and the two met up after class on Tuesday.
"After school, we went to the back of the school by the pool and sat on the bleachers where they practice band and stuff, and that's where we did it at," Tre said.
"She attempted to tattoo that hand," Buckmon said. "She, the young lady, did that hand and my son did that one because he said she messed up, so he did the other one himself."
Buckmon went to the school Thursday to tell administrators what had happened and to voice her concerns.
Both Tre and the girl were questioned about the incident.
But school district officials said the girl contradicted Tre's story, telling the principal and school resource officer that she only sold Tre the needle and ink, and that the transaction took place off campus.
Tre insists it happened on school grounds and that he likely wasn't the only student who got new ink that day.
"After I did the tattoo on my arm, she was, like, 'Hurry up. Hurry up,' because she had to give it to other people," Tre said. "She was taking it around the entire school."
The real concern here is that this is a health risk. Tre told his mother that the needles came from a sealed package, but she said she is getting him checked by a doctor anyway.
"The school's administration is aware of this incident and remains in communication with the students and families involved," a Broward County Public Schools represenative said in a statement. "Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about the potential consequences and risks associated with tattooing. The school continues to provide support and assistance to the students and families."