The President would like the teen to join him and other scientists next month for the White House’s annual Astronomy Night, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday.Ĭlinton tweeted that “assumptions don’t keep us safe” and urged the teenager to “keep building.” “Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and thousands of others are showing support for Ahmed. President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, U.S. The school’s Facebook page is roiling with sharp criticism of the way the teen was treated, and the hashtag #engineersforahmed is gaining popularity. Outrage over the incident - with many saying the student was profiled because he’s Muslim - spread on social media as #IStandWithAhmed started trending worldwide on Twitter with more than 100,000 tweets Tuesday morning. But Boyd said that authorities determined that the teenager did not intend to alarm anyone and the device, which the chief called “a homemade experiment,” was innocuous. On Wednesday, police announced that the teen will not be charged.Ĭhief Larry Boyd said that Ahmed should have been “forthcoming” by going beyond the description that what he made was a clock. The teenager did that because, well, it was a clock, he said. Irving Police spokesman Officer James McLellan told the station, “We attempted to question the juvenile about what it was and he would simply only tell us that it was a clock.” “They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb,” the freshman later explained to WFAA after authorities released him. A photo shows Ahmed, wearing a NASA t-shirt, looking confused and upset as he’s being led out of school in handcuffs. The 14-year-old’s day ended not with praise, but punishment, after the school called police and he was arrested. A teenager with dreams of becoming an engineer, he wanted to show his teacher the digital clock he’d made from a pencil case. When Ahmed Mohamed went to his high school in Irving, Texas, Monday, he was so excited. Muslim teen Ahmed Mohamed creates clock, shows teachers, gets arrested Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great.Īs of this update, there was no word yet on whether an official White House visit was in the works. Ahmed, his father, and attorneys told WFAA in Dallas they plan to meet with the principal and the police chief today.Cool clock, Ahmed. But perhaps most surprising of all, President Barack Obama's Twitter account put out a public invitation to the boy around noon today, encouraging Mohamed's maker spirit and asking if he'd bring his creation to the White House.Ĭool clock, Ahmed. Updated, September 16 1pm CST (7pm BST): After the media fallout from Ahmed Mohamed's arrest this week, the boy received a number of social media notes showing unexpected support from the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Hilary Clinton. Irving police Chief Larry Boyd told a news conference Wednesday that "We consider the case closed."Īs the boy's plight went viral, the freshman tweeted Wednesday: "Thank you for your support! I really didn't think people would care about a muslim boy." ![]() The freshman, who was fingerprinted by police, won't be charged with a crime. The boy's father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, said his son was "mistreated" because of his name and "because of Sept. The concern was, what was this thing built for? Do we take him into custody?" Irving police spokesman James McLellan told the Dallas Morning News. ![]() Later that day, he was interrogated by Irving police and school officials. "It could reasonably be mistaken as a device if left in a bathroom or under a car. Things went south for the boy when the clock beeped while in his backpack during English class and the teacher confiscated it. But the boy would soon be led away in handcuffs and eventually booked by Irving police. The Dallas Morning News, which first reported the arrest, said the youth's engineering teacher at MacArthur High in Irving said it was a "nice" device but cautioned him not to show it to other teachers. Local media described the device as being built with "a circuit board and power supply wired to a digital display, all strapped inside a case with a tiger hologram on the front." But the boy's arrest was, indeed, a sign of the times.Īhmed Mohamed wanted to impress his engineering teacher with his creation that took him 20 minutes to build at his Irving home. A 14-year-old Texas high school freshman was arrested and suspended for three days after arriving to class with a homemade clock that police and school officials feared was a bomb.
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