MILES CITY — A Miles City mother is speaking out after discovering her 16-year-old daughter received a tattoo on Custer County District High School property, given by another student. The incident has prompted a police investigation and raised concerns about the medical risks associated with unregulated tattooing.
After she learned about her daughter's new ink, Shelby Coughlin said she was asked what she planned to do.
"Somebody asked me if I was going to make her get it removed," Coughlin said.
Watch Shelby talk about what happened:
Coughlin's answer was straightforward.
"She was the one that put it on her body. She gets to keep it," Coughlin said. "She should know better than to get a tattoo in the bathroom at school."
The Miles City Police Department is now investigating. School Resource Officer Sgt. Michael Morris told MTN News the department is aware of the incident.
"At the end of last week, we received a report of some tattooing that was going on in a bathroom at the high school. The case is currently under investigation and due to it involving juveniles and still being an active investigation, there's not much info we can give out at this time," Morris said.
MTN News approached Miles City Unified School District Superintendent Meghan Brown at the district offices seeking comment, but she declined.
It remains unclear how many students received tattoos.
"I don't know how many people there were. I don't know how many people actually got tattoos," Coughlin said.
Health officials are raising alarms about the medical risks of unregulated tattooing.
"The fact that they use the same needle," Coughlin said. "A lot of people don't realize that you can actually, I mean, you can give yourself Hepatitis C from using the same needle over and over and over again."
One Health Miles City, the area's public health department, posted a statement on Facebook urging anyone who received an unregulated tattoo to seek medical attention.
"If you or someone you know received a tattoo outside of a licensed tattoo shop, we strongly encourage you to visit with your Primary Healthcare Provider to take necessary precautions in preventing bloodborne illnesses, assessing your risk level, and mitigating the risk," the post read.
For Coughlin, the concerns extend well beyond the tattoo itself.
"Honestly, I feel like this town needs more things for kids to do. If they weren't that bored, they wouldn't be doing tattoos on each other in the school bathroom," Coughlin said.
