She has ‘a short temper whenever she drinks.’ Bluffton mom hits child with nunchakus

The S.C. Department of Social Services is investigating an anonymous complaint that a Bluffton mother struck her child with nunchakus, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

The incident was reported around 9 p.m. Saturday, the report said. The address of the incident was redacted from the report.

A deputy spoke with the child, who said his mother and aunt had been drinking earlier. The child said his mother struck him in the back of the right leg with nunchakus because she thought he had been disrespectful to his aunt, the report said.

The child said the incident began when his aunt allegedly threw the nunchakus at him because she thought he had thrown a television remote. When the child picked up the nunchakus and said he was going to call police, he said his mother used the weapon to strike him in the leg.

“(The child) said his mother has a short temper whenever she drinks,” a deputy wrote in the report.

The child’s mother told the deputy she hit her son with the weapon, but that it was on the buttocks and “not hard enough to leave a mark,” the report said. She said she struck the child because he had hit his sister with the weapon and she “wanted him to know how it felt.” She also said she believed he had hit himself in the leg.

A deputy wrote that the boy had a welt on the back of his leg that was consistent with a handle of the nunchakus. However, the bruise was inconsistent with how the child described his mother struck him, the report said.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 6:10 AM with the headline "She has ‘a short temper whenever she drinks.’ Bluffton mom hits child with nunchakus."