That was my first guess, all though prickers are too wide at the base for the American Hawthorne I have around here.
Friend of mine was cutting some trees at his sisters and didnt wanna touch that one. "That tree is evil" he said
Kalopanax? PlantFiles Pictures: Kalopanax Species, Castor Aralia, Prickly Castor Oil Tree, Tree Aralia (Kalopanax septemlobus) by growin
The branch looks like Devil's Walking Stick, but the leaves don't match. Leaves match sweet gum Sweetgum | Liquidambar styraciflua Me thinks the leaves did not come from the thorny branch.