9th Grade Muslim student arrested for making a homemade clock fro school project

[Anonymous]

Muslima wrote:They knew it wasn't a bomb. No evacuation, no bomb squad , they left the so-called bomb inside the school and took pictures of it . Yes, that's absolutely the appropriate protocol when administrators believe there's a bomb in a school. This is nothing less than the result of years of brainwashing, fear mongering and Islamophobia.

Hoax was the actual accusation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It looks more like a bomb than a clock. I think with the atrocities that have happened at elementary, middle, and high schools in America, I believe the school officials were faring on the safer side. If you see something, say something. No pint in taking chances - Muslim or not.

Regardless of what you think it looks like, as we keep posting, nobody thought it was a bomb. Also, there is a big difference between saying something and taking the kid away in handcuffs.

You must have inside information the rest of us don't have. The reports said the English teacher thought it was a bomb. Even Ahmed said his teacher thought it was a bomb.

If teacher thought it was a bomb, and called the alarm, and the school was evacuated, that would be understandable to me. It doesn't look like a bomb, other than those in the Road Runner cartoon, but maybe she watches more cartoons than news and didn't know what actual bombs look like.

But the teacher didn't call the alarm, and she didn't call the police for hours. She put it aside, in the school building for hours.

So, either we have a teacher who is incredibly cavalier about student safety and deserves to be fired. Or we have a teacher who singled out a student of color for no decent reason.

The police also didn't think it was a bomb, because they didn't follow any of the procedures they'd have to follow if they did.

Hoax is also a crime

Except when the 14-year old isn't charged because no reasonable person would conclude that the device was intended to be a hoax bomb and it was readily apparent that the police overreacted and arrested this kid without the requisite probable cause. A clock in a pencil case can't be considered a hoax bomb if no one believed it was an actual bomb from the get go. Case closed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just have a question about this. Regarding aviation security, lots of people like to say better safe than sorry. Therefore, this clock would have never been allowed through a checkpoint, and frankly, it would be stupid of someone to try and be unaware of the consequences.

With school security a hot topic now, I'm having a hard time seeing the difference in the situations. Regardless of his race or religion, why would someone think it would be a good idea to bring this into a physical location where people are paranoid?

How do you know that the clock wouldn't be allowed through airport security? It very likely would have been subject to examination, but there is nothing dangerous about it so I don't know why it wouldn't be allowed through.

Regarding the school, I guess it can't be said enough. Nobody thought it was a bomb. Maybe you think it looks like a bomb, or maybe you think it looks like a ham sandwich. Either way, it doesn't matter because nobody at the school thought it was a bomb. For some reason, even though they knew it was not a bomb, they expected an explanation beyond "it is a clock". The police have been very explicit on that point. So, the question is, "why did they not accept the explanation that it was a clock and why were they so sure that there was a 'wider explanation'"? The most obvious answer is that he is Muslim.

I agree that it would have made it through airport security. I have taken some suspicious looking electronics through and never been stopped. Probably the first person to see it would be the person viewing the x-ray images. I don't think he would see anything to alarm him.

You've taken a little suitcase with a clock face with wires hanging out of it? Who's willing to build something similar and try this? How about getting through security at a courtroom or the Capital? Let's test your confidence level.

He wasn't going through security. He was at school. He showed a project to a teacher. Not the same situation at all.

I understand that an English teacher with no understanding of electronics might make a mistake, but after her mistake was cleared up, having the boy arrested and suspending him was an over-reaction.

BTW, if you had something like that that went through security in a courtroom, the guards would look at it, ask you what it is, and then tell you to take it back to your car. It is highly unlikely that you would get arrested. I am in and out of federal courthouses all the time, and I can't imagine getting arrested for something that dumb. Same thing at the airport. If TSA even blinked at something like that, they would tell you to put it in your car or take it home, and nothing else would happen. The school over-reacted badly.

[Anonymous]

Is it reasonable that a 14 year old was perp walked through his school while handcuffed with a cop on each arm because of this clock? Was it reasonable that this 14 year old was arrested and fingerprinted?

[Anonymous]

Muslima wrote:They knew it wasn't a bomb. No evacuation, no bomb squad , they left the so-called bomb inside the school and took pictures of it . Yes, that's absolutely the appropriate protocol when administrators believe there's a bomb in a school. This is nothing less than the result of years of brainwashing, fear mongering and Islamophobia.

The picture that was released was from the Irving Police Department. Unless you know differently, I think it is most likely that the picture was taken there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:They knew it wasn't a bomb. No evacuation, no bomb squad , they left the so-called bomb inside the school and took pictures of it . Yes, that's absolutely the appropriate protocol when administrators believe there's a bomb in a school. This is nothing less than the result of years of brainwashing, fear mongering and Islamophobia.

The picture that was released was from the Irving Police Department. Unless you know differently, I think it is most likely that the picture was taken there.

Here is how this thing should have gone down:

English Teacher: what's that beeping
Ahmed: Oh, it's this clock I built to show my engineering teacher
English Teacher: That looks scary
Ahmed: Go ask my engineering teacher, he looked at it and can explain it to you.
English Teacher: Oh, OK.

[Anonymous]

Here is a the picture of the clock that was released by the Irving Police department.



Here is a 20 second video of a man removing the electronics of a similar clock and arranging them in a similar case the way Ahmed arranged them.

There were probably no other pictures released by the police because there was nothing else to see. The case has to be opened to see the display or use the controls for the clock. It appears that Ahmed extended the power cable outside the case and held the case together with a piece of wire so he could plug it in without open the case. If that us what the teacher first saw and it was beeping, there is no way she could have known there was a clock inside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a the picture of the clock that was released by the Irving Police department.



Here is a 20 second video of a man removing the electronics of a similar clock and arranging them in a similar case the way Ahmed arranged them.

There were probably no other pictures released by the police because there was nothing else to see. The case has to be opened to see the display or use the controls for the clock. It appears that Ahmed extended the power cable outside the case and held the case together with a piece of wire so he could plug it in without open the case. If that us what the teacher first saw and it was beeping, there is no way she could have known there was a clock inside.

Really, he wouldn't show his engineering teacher the inside? What's the point of bringing it in then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a the picture of the clock that was released by the Irving Police department.



Here is a 20 second video of a man removing the electronics of a similar clock and arranging them in a similar case the way Ahmed arranged them.

There were probably no other pictures released by the police because there was nothing else to see. The case has to be opened to see the display or use the controls for the clock. It appears that Ahmed extended the power cable outside the case and held the case together with a piece of wire so he could plug it in without open the case. If that us what the teacher first saw and it was beeping, there is no way she could have known there was a clock inside.

Really, he wouldn't show his engineering teacher the inside? What's the point of bringing it in then?

I am sure he showed the science teacher that is the only way the teacher would have known it was a clock. There is nothing visible with the case closed to indicate there is a clock inside. That is why I am suggesting that if what the English teacher saw was a case held together with a piece of wire and beeping she might reasonable think there might be a bomb inside, especially in this day and age.

My take is that the teacher probably did think there was a bomb inside and reported it; the police were called in; they discovered it was a clock inside and the police and school administrators went into CYA mode.

[Anonymous]

If you're correct about the teacher then she should be terminated for failing to take any steps to safeguard her students. Someone who thinks there is an IED inside a pencil box wouldn't shove it in her desk drawer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:They knew it wasn't a bomb. No evacuation, no bomb squad , they left the so-called bomb inside the school and took pictures of it . Yes, that's absolutely the appropriate protocol when administrators believe there's a bomb in a school. This is nothing less than the result of years of brainwashing, fear mongering and Islamophobia.

Hoax was the actual accusation.

Bomb hoax? The kid never claimed it was a bomb.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a the picture of the clock that was released by the Irving Police department.



Here is a 20 second video of a man removing the electronics of a similar clock and arranging them in a similar case the way Ahmed arranged them.

There were probably no other pictures released by the police because there was nothing else to see. The case has to be opened to see the display or use the controls for the clock. It appears that Ahmed extended the power cable outside the case and held the case together with a piece of wire so he could plug it in without open the case. If that us what the teacher first saw and it was beeping, there is no way she could have known there was a clock inside.

Really, he wouldn't show his engineering teacher the inside? What's the point of bringing it in then?

I am sure he showed the science teacher that is the only way the teacher would have known it was a clock. There is nothing visible with the case closed to indicate there is a clock inside. That is why I am suggesting that if what the English teacher saw was a case held together with a piece of wire and beeping she might reasonable think there might be a bomb inside, especially in this day and age.

My take is that the teacher probably did think there was a bomb inside and reported it; the police were called in; they discovered it was a clock inside and the police and school administrators went into CYA mode.

I agree with this except for two points:

1) The teacher did not treat it as if it was a bomb. Therefore, the teacher probably didn't think it was bomb. But, may have thought it was part of a bomb hoax;

2) The fact that the student is named Ahmed Mohommed probably contributed to the teacher's suspicion that the object was not a clock and perhaps a bomb hoax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Is it reasonable that a 14 year old was perp walked through his school while handcuffed with a cop on each arm because of this clock? Was it reasonable that this 14 year old was arrested and fingerprinted?

Yes. Because that's protocol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Is it reasonable that a 14 year old was perp walked through his school while handcuffed with a cop on each arm because of this clock? Was it reasonable that this 14 year old was arrested and fingerprinted?

Yes. Because that's protocol.

"Protocol"? You just made that up. It is not "protocol". Cops have lots of options to handle situations at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:They knew it wasn't a bomb. No evacuation, no bomb squad , they left the so-called bomb inside the school and took pictures of it . Yes, that's absolutely the appropriate protocol when administrators believe there's a bomb in a school. This is nothing less than the result of years of brainwashing, fear mongering and Islamophobia.

Hoax was the actual accusation.

Bomb hoax? The kid never claimed it was a bomb.

It was their CYA excuse.