When second-grader Amonn Jackson left school on Tuesday, he had what appeared to be a bullet wound to his forehead.

Jackson, 7, a student at Phillips Academy in downtown Birmingham, told his mother when she picked him up from school that it was makeup for a drama class.

“It looked so real in person, that it looked like something happened,” said his mother, Zakiya Milhouse, who shared a photo of her son on Facebook with the makeup.

“It was supposed to be a gunshot wound,” she said. “That’s when I got upset. A gunshot wound.”

Putting makeup on a child to mimic a bullet wound did not seem like an appropriate school lesson, she said.

“This actually happens to our black young men,” she said. “If you saw it in person, it looked real.”

After Milhouse shared the photo of her son on social media, she received an apologetic call from the principal. “He said this was unacceptable,” she said.

She also spoke to the teacher, who apologized, she said. “He didn’t think it was a real big deal,” she said. “He said he did paint on different kids, such as black eyes. He said was going to take it out of his lesson plan.”

Milhouse acknowledged that she had given permission for the use of makeup in drama class.

“I had to fill out a permission form to give them permission,” Milhouse said. But she still believes it was bad judgment. “A bullet wound – that’s too much,” she said.

Birmingham City Schools issued the following statement:

“Birmingham City Schools is aware of an image posted by a parent on social media depicting a wound on a student’s head. The student was participating in a theater class unit on stage, film, and special effects.

The teacher sent permission forms home with students making parents aware of the unit and requesting permission to put makeup on students.

Students were asked if they would like the makeup on their hands or faces, and this student chose his face. Students are never forced to participate, and they had the option to skip a design.

The teacher and principal called the student’s mother to apologize for the incident, and the teacher assured the student’s mother that no malice was behind the depiction. The teacher also stated that the only aim in teaching makeup techniques is to help students appreciate and understand the technical elements of performing arts.

As a culturally responsive school system, Birmingham City Schools takes issues like this very seriously and does not condone the graphic nature of this lesson on special effects. We regret any issues and perceptions this incident may have caused, and this portion of the lesson will be removed from the unit.”