A 14-year-old Texas boy was arrested and taken to juvenile detention Monday after teachers mistook the homemade electronic clock he had brought to school for a bomb.

Ahmed Mohamed, a Grade 9 student at MacArthur High School in Irving, has been suspended for three days. Police initially said he may face charges of making a hoax bomb, but later said the case had been closed without charges.

Police acknowledged that Ahmed had insisted to teachers, the principal and police that his creation was nothing but a clock.



The clock consisted of a circuit board and battery wired to a red LED digital display, encased inside a metal box with a tiger hologram on it, the type of case "you could get a Target for five, 10 dollars," Ahmed told the Dallas Morning News.

He showed it to his engineering teacher Monday morning.

"He was like, 'That's really nice,'" Ahmed said. "'I would advise you not to show any other teachers.'"

Ahmed put the clock in his bag after that, but the alarm went off during English class. He showed his invention to the teacher after class was over.

"She was like, it looks like a bomb," he said.

"I told her, 'It doesn't look like a bomb to me.'"

The teacher kept the clock and the principal called police. Officers pulled Ahmed out of class, questioned him, handcuffed him and took him to juvenile detention, where his fingerprints and mug shot were taken, he said.

"It made me feel like I wasn't human. It made me feel like a criminal," he told the Dallas Morning News.

When the story began circulating on Twitter Tuesday night, many people questioned the reaction of teachers and police to Ahmed's homemade clock, and sympathized with his story.



Source>> http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/ahmed-mohamed-arrested-clock-bomb-1.3230261

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hmed Mohamed went to his high school with the goal of showing his teacher a digital clock he'd made from a pencil case
But an English teacher reported Ahmed's project, which prompted school officials to call police

Washington (CNN)The same day Texas police announced that a teenager arrested in Texas after bringing a clock he made to high school would not charged, President Barack Obama invited the student to the White House.

"Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great," the POTUS Twitter account tweeted.

Ahmed Mohamed, who plans to become an engineer, went to his high school in Irving, Texas, on Monday with the goal of showing his teacher a digital clock he'd made from a pencil case.

But the 14-year-old's day did not end with high praise. Instead, an English teacher reported Ahmed's project, which prompted school officials to call police. A photo shows Ahmed being led out of school in handcuffs and a NASA T-shirt.

Muslim teen Ahmed Mohamed creates clock, shows teachers, gets arrested

"They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb," the freshman later explained.

Mohamed repeatedly told police that what they believed to be a hoax bomb was actually a clock. He said they would not allow him to contact his father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who ran for president of Sudan earlier this year.

"My son is a very brilliant boy," the father told CNN. "We need people like him in this country."

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan agreed.

"We need to be encouraging young engineers, not putting them in handcuffs. #IStandWithAhmed," Duncan tweeted.


The White House invited Ahmed to Astronomy Night in October, an annual event that brings together astronauts, scientists and other professionals.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday that the incident "is a good illustration of how pernicious stereotypes can prevent even goodhearted people who have dedicated their lives to educating young people from doing the good work they set out to do.

"The president, like many of us, was struck by the news reports of this particular incident. The fact is, America's best teachers and our schools and our best schools, at least, nurture the intellectual curiously of all of our students. And this instance, it's clear that at least some of Ahmed's teachers failed him," Earnest said.

Police announced Wednesday that the teen will not be charged, but Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed said he is not sure if his son will return to school Thursday. School officials said they were cooperating with authorities on the matter.

"We always ask our students and staff to immediately report if they observe any suspicious items and/or suspicious behavior," the school's statement reads. "If something is out of the ordinary, the information should be reported immediately to a school administrator and/or the police so it can be addressed right away. We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students and keep our school community as safe as possible."

In the meantime, Ahmed was racking up invitations from top tech companies. Google invited him on Twitter to this weekend's Google Science Fair.

And Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg invited the teen to stop by his company in a statement posted on his page.

"Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmed.

"Ahmed, if you ever want to come by Facebook, I'd love to meet you. Keep building," Zuckerberg wrote.

Source>> http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/16/politics/barack-obama-ahmed-texas/index.html

kenny987:
An unfortunate circumstance and in this time of heightened security alerts because of terrorist activities one can't be too careful.

OtunbaJega:


Shut da fuuuuckkk up

kenny987:
An unfortunate circumstance and in this time of heightened security alerts because of terrorist activities one can't be too careful.

kenny987:
An unfortunate circumstance and in this time of heightened security alerts because of terrorist activities one can't be too careful.

OtunbaJega:


Shut da fuuuuckkk up

uniklinkum:


This is one of the most thoughtless gibberish I have ever read on cyberspace. Are you for real? if it's not the name there won't be have been concern abi. You dumbfucks irritates every atom of commonsense.

uniklinkum:


This is one of the most thoughtless gibberish I have ever read on cyberspace. Are you for real? if it's not the name there won't be have been concern abi. You dumbfucks irritates every atom of commonsense.

Candyrain:
Perhaps the name was what made them swoop in on the young kid (even though that wasn't stated as the reason) but will you blame them for being too careful going by the recent terrorist activities being carried out by minors. Would you take chances if you noticed any suspicious movement around you by some northern minors with hijab on knowing that they've been used for suicide bombings in recent times? Would you?

uniklinkum:


Going by your logic, it will be safe to take same measures and precautions on any white male moving into a public space. Cos of white male shootings in public places from Anders brevik to Dylan roof and many others.

Bobbystanley:
Ahmed sorry, Its not ur fault nor that of the English teacher.

Your region Is a threat to human lives and properties.

Islam and Terrorism =Romeo and Juliet

ayokellany:

When you have your own country you are free to screen whoever you chose. It's the USA and they chose to screen anyone with the name Mohammed. I would too n still have a father that is a Muslim. It's might not be fair to your reasoning but I am 100% positive they are justified in their reasoning for not taking anything for granted.

baralatie:
and the engineering teacher told him "don't let the other teachers see it"
that was enough warning!