Looks like show-and-tell took a nasty turn for one Texas teen. Muslim high-schooler Ahmed Mohamed was taken out of school in handcuffs on Monday after administrators thought he had brought a bomb to school and called the police. The item was in fact an alarm-clock he had built from scratch.
Ahmed is an inventor who has won many awards for his inventions. He dreams of becoming an engineer. In a photo circling online Ahmed is snapped in handcuffs, with a confused expression on his face. He is wearing a NASA t-shirt. The bright teen told WFAA the police arrested him for making fake explosives. "They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb."
Ahmed said when he was called out of class, one of the officers said to him, "So you tried to make a bomb?"
Reportedly, Ahmed told the police he had made a clock, but that answer was not enough. "We attempted to question the juvenile about what it was and he would simply only tell us that it was a clock," said Irving Police spokesman Officer James McLellan. On Wednesday, police advised the boy would not be charged. Figures since he made a clock, not a bomb.
Ahmed's father believes his son was targeted because of his Muslim background. "My son's name is Mohamed -- people just think Muslims are terrorists but we are peaceful, we are not that way."
According to CNN, Mohamed did not learn of the situation until he received a call and an email from the school, telling him Ahmed had been arrested and suspended from school for three days. Mohamed advised the school should have called him right away.
At news conference on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Irving Independent School District told reporters that the reports between Ahmed's incident and the media's coverage were "unbalanced."
MacArthur High School told CNN they are following protocol. "We can assure everyone that school administrators are handling the situation in accordance with the Irving ISD Student Code of Conduct and applicable laws."
However, the internet is not so sure. The police force as well as school administrators are being slammed on the school's Facebook page for the way they handled the situation.
People condemned the school for passing judgement and stifling his innovations writing, "Shame on your school and its administration for arresting Ahmed Mohamed. Way to stifle a kid's creativity and energy," and "I really hope you guys are absolutely ashamed for possibly ruining the ingenuity of one bright kid who made a CLOCK for crying out loud. What kind of education does your professors have?"
President Obama, on the other hand, invited Ahmed over to the White House to hang out with other scientists for their annual Astronomy Night. "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," Obama tweeted.
At this time, Mohamed is unsure of whether Ahmed will return to school on Thursday. However, his Ahmed's family has started the hashtag #Thankyouforstandingwithme. to thank all of his supporters.
"It gives him hope," said Mohamed. "Right now he is trying just stay positive and is listening to the news about him and reading about people's comments him on social media. It's really too much for him to take in right now, but long term it will be good for him. He doesn't want to show he is a victim.