A 14-year-old boy was arrested by police in Texas after a homemade clock he wanted to show his school teachers was mistaken for a bomb.
Ahmed Mohamed told US media that he had made a clock at home and brought it into MacArthur High School in Irving to show his engineering teacher.
Another teacher saw it and, concerned that it looked like a bomb, alerted the school authorities who called police.
His father fears the incident happened because of his son's Muslim background.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it is investigating the incident.
There was a strong reaction to the story on social media.
Anil Dash
Ahmed Mohamed told the Dallas Morning News that he loved robotics and engineering and wanted to show his teachers what he could do.
He said his engineering teacher told him "that's really nice", but advised him "not to show any other teachers".
The teenager said that another teacher became aware of it when the device beeped during the lesson.
"She was like, it looks like a bomb," he said.
He said the teacher kept the clock, and later in the day he was pulled out lessons and interviewed by the school's headteachers and four police officers.
He has reportedly been suspended from school for three days.
'Report suspicious behaviour'
Police spokesman James McLellan said that, throughout the interview, Ahmed had maintained that he built only a clock, but said the boy was unable to give a "broader explanation" as to what it would be used for.
The school has not commented on the case, but said in a statement that it "always ask our students and staff to immediately report if they observe any suspicious items and/or suspicious behaviour".
Ahmed's father Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who is originally from Sudan, said his son "just wants to invent good things for mankind, but because his name is Mohamed and because of 11 September I think my son got mistreated".
And the Council on American-Islamic Relations suspects he may be right.
"I think this wouldn't even be a question if his name wasn't Ahmed Mohamed," said Alia Salem, of the council's local branch. "He is an excited kid who is very bright and wants to share it with his teachers."
No comments:
Post a Comment