Ahmed Mohamed, 14, had thought that he had achieved something that would garner praise at at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas. He had made a homemade digital clock from a pencil case. Instead, teachers called police and Ahmed was interrogated and taken to the police station on suspicion of a bomb hoax. UPDATE: some critics have expressed doubt over the clock as well as the narrative.
The teen, who wants to go to MIT, was a robotics club member and won awards for his inventions. He said that he actually showed it to one teacher who said it was impressive but recommended that he not show it to people at the school. Then it beeped in class and he showed the source of the noise.
Ahmed’s English teacher thought the clock was a bomb and that triggered a bizarre response of multiple teachers and police who took Ahmed into custody without any evidence supporting the allegation of a bomb. He said that was pulled out of class and taken to a room with four police officers. He said that one immediately said “Yup. That’s who I thought it was.” Another said to him, “So you tried to make a bomb?” He said that he kept saying it was a clock.
Irving Police spokesman Officer James McLellan insisted “We attempted to question the juvenile about what it was and he would simply only tell us that it was a clock.”
Well, that was probably because it was a clock Officer McLellan.
Chief Larry Boyd added that Ahmed should have been “forthcoming” by going beyond the description that what he made was a clock. Like what? I can only think of two relevant points. One it is a clock. Two it is not a bomb.
What he did allegedly say is that he wanted to speak with his parents, but that was allegedly one thing that the police did not want to hear. He was held without a lawyer or speaking with his parents according to reports.
Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, reportedly came to his country after fighting for greater freedoms in Sudan where he twice ran for the presidency. He would find his son “surrounded by five police and . . . handcuffed.” He also learned that the police had denied him the right to call his parents by saying that they had not technically put him under arrest.
His family have questioned whether he would have been treated the same way if his name were not Mohamed and was Muslim.
Thousands have rallied around Ahmed under the hashtag “#IstandwithAhmed.” They include Nasa scientists who noticed he was wearing a NASA teeshirt as well as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Even President Barack Obama, tweeted to Ahmed: “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.”
A short list of students NOT named Mohamed who brought clocks to school and didn’t get arrested:
http://gawker.com/7-kids-not-named-mohamed-who-brought-homemade-clocks-to-1730999866
Someone needs to get back on her meds.
I think it will be ideal if every school has a detector to always ascertain with facts.
Every journey level maker of improvised explosive devices worth his salt knows to use large number displays in bomb circuitry. It’s also the IEEE standard for time bombs, as is using proper wire gauge to prevent electrical fires prior to detonation.
America is DOOMED!
1. Mice do not scare teachers anymore, but any collection of electric wires do.
2. The poor child proudly brought his assembly to the teacher to get some appreciation from her. Look what was her response: MORONIC PANIC whose reptilian part of the brain took dominance. Such are our teachers nowadays.
3. The police officer, as behooves a texan, did react as the teacher did. What was the efficacy of (US!) pouring Billions of $$$ to *train* local Law Enforcement officers the discrete art of “anti-terrorism,” if an officer who was called to remove EXPLOSIVES can not tell an electronic motherboard from a load of explosives??? (to nothin’ about drugs…)
4. Why was this smart student shackled and arrested?
5. Where was the school principle? Was he “instrumental” in this fiasco too?
6. Where was the Police Chief? Was he “in on it” too?
All this fiasco only enhances my feelings that America is on it road from dumb to dumber, to dumbest.
Even Steve Allen, may he rest in piece, could not have foreseen this one.
Wow. Such prejudice (in some comments above). . . . Sad.
EGAD!!! I’m supposed to be thankful and sleep sounder tonight knowing Lisa N. and her minions are out there helping to usher in another era of hateful McCarthyism on a gullible world? No thank you, once I find those edicts from Christ in my Bible I’ll make a go of it on my own!
If that thing had been brought into my airport, they would have called a 29 would be called and shut down the terminal and most likely evacuate it. A Leo would be called and that thing would be swabbed at least twice and tested by the explosive trace detector machine and then a BAO would be brought to the scene to examine it. The father would be the one detained, also had his hands tested, patted down and closely observed by the BDO’s. Anyone who thinks this was an innocent act better wake the f up.
Whilst this is clearly an over reaction related to latent religious discrimination and in the present climate of terrorist fear, this is understandable (but not right) – America is a country which tries to put right its mistakes. At least some of its mistakes. Unlike other countries.
The boy’s behaviour amid this stress as reported should make his parents proud.
Here is a quick guide to help school officials.
This is not a bomb. It plays the song, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”.
Another test…
It has two numeric displays so is it a bomb? Nope, it was a hobby project that counts from 00 to 99. Had it instead counted from 99 to 00 yes, it would be a bomb because according to the officials’ logic it had a count-down.
“Knowing as much as I do about these people and their beliefs, the father is a radical and used his son as a test.”
What, exactly, do you know about this particular father and his specific beliefs that would lead you to conclude he is a radical?
What, exactly, is the expertise of your former neighbor that would allow her to determine the operation of a electrical device composed of several integrated circuits?
Did she examine the device? What tests did she perform? What equipment did she use? What were the results? What are her conclusions regarding the function of the device – if it is not a clock, what exactly does it do?
I am really curious. If the device is not a clock, what exactly does it do?
Lisa – you are totally paranoid and it’ s disturbing your sleep. Go to bed.
You people who think this is all innocent better wake up. Europe played dumb and look what it got them. I was trained and trained and trained again on terrorism during the Bush administration and first two years of Obama. This invcident was not a hoax, it was a dry run. Wake up! Take off your rose colored glasses, these kids are raised to be killing machines in that world. You’ll see.
Darren ->
http://stewd.io/m/stewdio-getaclue–0540.jpg
Riesling ->
http://stewd.io/m/stewdio-getaclue–0540.jpg
It actually looked like a suitcase nuke…NOT !
How could this have possibly been a bomb hoax when there certainly was no evidence offered he made any plans to cause panic or made any threat. His actions do not even constitute an inchoate crime.
Here is really the root cause of this nonsense. I quote from the school district’s spokeswoman:
…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.”
~+~
This is the problem. Anything out of the ordinary is wrong and a threat under this type of thinking. These school officials and the police for that matter cannot conceive a notion beyond that just because something is different it must be bad.
What do I think? I’ll bet the police seriously considered charging this boy with making bomb threats and then someone, perhaps a supervisor, came to their senses and told them to stand down on the charge. I fail to see why the police would effectively book Ahmed into juvy unless there was at some point the intent to charge him with a crime. Or, perhaps, though I have no proof of this presently, they did it to cause some form of psychological reaction in him.
There was no reason to fingerprint him as part of their investigation. I hope that he gets this matter expunged and the photo and fingerprints destroyed. I don’t know what this state’s policy is on fingerprint retention for juveniles but if the fingerprints get entered into their statewide computer system it will have a marker for the reason for why the prints were taken, such as arrest, identification, or job applicant, or pistol license. If it is arrest and there is a subsequent background investigation on him for perhaps a job with the government there could be a flag that he has already been fingerprinted for a criminal arrest. This could lead to some problems for him later in life.
On a broader scale of things President Obama could use this incident in a speech for why zero-tolerance approaches by schools are leading to ridiculous outcomes such as this.
And I do believe that officials subjected Ahmed to discriminatory enforcement on account of his race/creed.
it is surprising that after verifying there was no problem, he was still suspended for 3 days.
It is one thing to make a mistake. It is quite another to compound the error by punishing the student as though the student is the source of the problem.
At some point simple incompetence rises to the level of child abuse.
“His family have questioned whether he would have been treated the same way if his name were not Mohamed and was Muslim.”
In this skin merchant oriented society, this family could’ve done this purposefully to garner a racist lawsuit and then use that money for terrorism. My former neighbor works at that school and she said it was no clock.
If I were the Irving PD, I’d profile the heck out of the father. This will only get worse if we bring these self induced refuge Muslims to US soil.
Their core beliefs and upbringing are polar opposite of most people in America, depending on what city you were raised in. Bringing these human weapons of Islam to our country will only create here what they are supposedly running from there.
Knowing as much as I do about these people and their beliefs, the father is a radical and used his son as a test. This will be a PEEK of what is to come folks. Next time, it will be a real bomb and lots of children will be killed and all wrapped up by a bow from Obama. This mini pre-radical jihadist was invited to the White House to meet America’s head radicalized jihad president.
This stuff happens because the teachers don’ t really get to know the kids and their families. Also, smart kids like Ahmed are BORED at school. I suspect the ones who called the cops have been watching “Homeland” or “24” instead of preparing their lessons and getting to know their pupils.
Hoping that the President of MIT makes a statement in support of the child……..