9th Grader Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

In summary, Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old student who enjoys tinkering with electronics, brought a homemade clock to his high school in an attempt to impress his teachers. However, instead of being praised, he was taken to juvenile detention after the school phoned the police, labeling the clock as a "hoax bomb." Despite Ahmed's insistence that it was just a clock, the police may still charge him. This incident highlights the discrimination and prejudice faced by individuals of certain races or religions in America. On a positive note, Ahmed has received support from the community and even an invitation from the White House to showcase his talents.
  • #141
nsaspook said:
I love America, winning the hearts and minds of possible 'Hoax bombers' with electronic goodies.
Smart kid either way
 
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  • #142
Oops, I forgot another thing adding to my criticism of Texas. Texas excludes atheists from being in office. Article 1, Section 4: "RELIGIOUS TESTS. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall anyone be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being." In other words, they believe in "freedom of religion" but not "freedom from religion." Last time I checked, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
 
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  • #143
Rio Larsen said:
Oops, I forgot another thing adding to my criticism of Texas. Texas excludes atheists from being in office. Article 1, Section 4: "RELIGIOUS TESTS. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall anyone be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being." In other words, they believe in "freedom of religion" but not "freedom from religion." Last time I checked, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
That part of the Texas Constitution (and of 7 other states) was voided 55 years ago. So it is false to say that Texas excludes atheists from holding office.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...-cant-hold-public-office-if-youre-an-atheist/
 
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  • #144
OmCheeto said:
Hey! @Drakkith is from Texas! And I'm pretty sure @Evo lived there for a while...



Digging deeper into the story, it seems there is more to it than just brains, bigotry, and innocence:



clock.or.ticking.bomb.jpg

"...packed up the wirey mess in a pencil case to show his engineering teacher..."​

Reminds me a bit of a line from "Men in Black":


This kid has a "beeping" "pencil case" that looks way more like a suitcase.
He's an engineering child, and should not have any interest in colored pencils.
I would have been suspicious too.






Being suspicious is one thing. Arresting him, and threatening to charge him with making a hoax bomb, which could potentially ruin his future, or at least make it very difficult, is another thing completely. I'm not upset that they investigated. I'm upset at the consequences. It was quite clearly not a bomb, at least at the end of the day, and it was quite clear that he never portrayed it to be a bomb. What did he do wrong? Nothing. Why is he being punished? That's the question I would like an answer to.
 
  • #145
DaleSpam said:
The Irving Tx Police Department does not have a bomb squad. There was nobody qualified to make that determination.

They didn't seem too worried. From what I understand, they kept the "bomb" in the interrogation room with them, and also in the squad car as they transported him. Doesn't sound like they thought it was a bomb, at all, regardless of whether they are "qualified" or not.

atyy said:
'He kept the clock inside his school bag in English class, but the teacher complained when the alarm beeped in the middle of a lesson. Ahmed brought his invention up to show her afterward.'

Q: How much time elapsed between the beeping and when he showed the English teacher the clock?


'“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. When the principal and a police officer pulled Ahmed out of sixth period, he suspected he wouldn’t get it back.'

Q: Where did the teacher keep the suspected bomb? How quickly did the teacher inform the police of the suspected bomb? Was the school immediately evacuated?

^This get's to my point.
 
  • #146
BiGyElLoWhAt said:
Arresting him, and threatening to charge him with making a hoax bomb, which could potentially ruin his future, or at least make it very difficult, is another thing completely. I'm not upset that they investigated. I'm upset at the consequences.
Getting arrested isn't going to ruin anyone's future. It is not a severe consequence.
 
  • #147
No, but having "making a hoax bomb" or whatever the actual charge would be would make it hard for him to get a job that employs background checks. I'm assuming that it's been dropped by now, because there's no evidence to support it, but the fact that they tried to pursue that when it was quite clearly illegitimate. ..
 
  • #148
You are confusing being arrested with being convicted.
 
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  • #149
Yes, I suppose I am. Either way, it doesn't condone the douchebaggery. The cops were out of line, end of story.
 
  • #151
  • #152
Thirty percent of $15 million - a nice pay day for shake down lawyers.
 
  • #153
mheslep said:
Thirty percent of $15 million - a nice pay day for shake down lawyers.

I called it first!

OmCheeto said:
Cha-Ching!

Not sure if anyone noticed last month that the entire family was planning to move to Qatar:


But I did, and googled something like: emigrating to Qatar
and found pretty much nothing.

So just now, I googled: moving to Qatar
and found a really sour looking article:

Moving guide: 10 things to know before relocating to Qatar [telegraph.co.uk]
Oct 15, 2015
...
My first week in Qatar is a permanent fixture in my memory, ineffectually filed under “try to forget”
...

And it only gets worse from there.

I would not move to Qatar, for a billion dollars.
But hell ya! Sue them Texans. Theys gots lotsa oil money.
 
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  • #154
It seems like everything that happened to that kid had been heavily politicised. Now that he moved to Qatar, sadly even his future has become a political statement.
 
  • #155
HossamCFD said:
It seems like everything that happened to that kid had been heavily politicised. Now that he moved to Qatar, sadly even his future has become a political statement.
Yes, his future is not what it used to be.
 
<h2>1. What happened in the incident involving the 9th grader bringing a homemade clock to school?</h2><p>On September 14th, 2015, a 14-year-old 9th grader named Ahmed Mohamed was arrested at his school in Irving, Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school. The clock was mistaken for a bomb by school officials and the police were called.</p><h2>2. Why was the 9th grader arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school?</h2><p>The 9th grader was arrested because the school and police believed that the homemade clock was a bomb and posed a threat to the safety of the school and its students. They thought that the clock was a hoax bomb meant to cause harm.</p><h2>3. Was the 9th grader charged with a crime for bringing a homemade clock to school?</h2><p>Yes, the 9th grader was charged with a crime. He was initially charged with possession of a hoax bomb, but the charges were later dropped. However, he was still suspended from school for three days.</p><h2>4. Why did the 9th grader's arrest receive widespread media attention?</h2><p>The 9th grader's arrest received widespread media attention because many people believed that the incident was a result of racial and religious discrimination. The 9th grader is Muslim and many felt that he was unfairly targeted because of his race and religion.</p><h2>5. What was the outcome of the incident involving the 9th grader bringing a homemade clock to school?</h2><p>The incident sparked a national conversation about racial and religious discrimination, as well as the treatment of students in schools. The 9th grader's family filed a lawsuit against the school district and the city, and eventually reached a settlement. The 9th grader also received numerous invitations to visit the White House and meet with President Obama, as well as scholarships and internship opportunities from various organizations.</p>

1. What happened in the incident involving the 9th grader bringing a homemade clock to school?

On September 14th, 2015, a 14-year-old 9th grader named Ahmed Mohamed was arrested at his school in Irving, Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school. The clock was mistaken for a bomb by school officials and the police were called.

2. Why was the 9th grader arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school?

The 9th grader was arrested because the school and police believed that the homemade clock was a bomb and posed a threat to the safety of the school and its students. They thought that the clock was a hoax bomb meant to cause harm.

3. Was the 9th grader charged with a crime for bringing a homemade clock to school?

Yes, the 9th grader was charged with a crime. He was initially charged with possession of a hoax bomb, but the charges were later dropped. However, he was still suspended from school for three days.

4. Why did the 9th grader's arrest receive widespread media attention?

The 9th grader's arrest received widespread media attention because many people believed that the incident was a result of racial and religious discrimination. The 9th grader is Muslim and many felt that he was unfairly targeted because of his race and religion.

5. What was the outcome of the incident involving the 9th grader bringing a homemade clock to school?

The incident sparked a national conversation about racial and religious discrimination, as well as the treatment of students in schools. The 9th grader's family filed a lawsuit against the school district and the city, and eventually reached a settlement. The 9th grader also received numerous invitations to visit the White House and meet with President Obama, as well as scholarships and internship opportunities from various organizations.

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