Anonymous wrote:A school district isn't a public safety agency merely because it happens to employ security officers.

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't it strike anyone strange that they thought this thing was a bomb, even though the picture clearly shows there is nothing explosive inside of it?

I posted it before, but to the best of my knowledge, nobody thought it was a bomb. That is the really ridiculous part. If they thought it was a bomb, they should have evacuated the school and called the bomb squad. But, they knew it was not a bomb. I have no explanation for the school administration's actions, but the police have been clear that they were looking for a "wider explanation".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like it could easily be made into a bomb with some explosive material and a bit of re-wiring.....

and so could my watch, and my pressure cooker, and a test tube, and an empty soda bottle and... just curious, how much do you know about bomb making?

We're going to arrest kids at school because they have items that *could* be made into a bomb? Got to shout out to the pps who are trying to justify the school/police reaction by trying to link the violent school shootings across our country and to this case. Please do a google search and take a look at those kids. Come back and let us know what you discover.

At what point do you admit that it was the combo of the brown skinned muslim child with the electronics that caused the hysteria. For the love of Cheezus can we just stop pretending.

Anonymous wrote:Ahmed had a crude bomb resembling clock-look at the clocks in your home-do any of them look like a bunch of wires, and electrical tape on circuits in a tiny black suitcase?

When I conjure up the image of a clock-the thing that kid made would never cross my mind-home made project or not. Look, I hope this is just a good kid who was misunderstood. I hope he goes far in life-gets into MIT and contributes great things to society. I hope that is the case. There will always be racism, unfair judgements about others, including Islamophobia-part of life and we all have to deal with it. Barak Obama should focus more on real issues and not get involved in basic everyday civil crap issues like this. There are much bigger fish to fry on his plate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The news tonight said that while the police dropped charges, the school suspension stands. Why on earth is a school insisting on suspending this student?
Really, is this the nation in which I live?

Reading between the lines ("passive agressive" answers) my suspicion is that the boy gave them attitude when he was questioned.

Anonymous wrote:Looks like it could easily be made into a bomb with some explosive material and a bit of re-wiring.....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Texas definition of "hoax bomb"

13) "Hoax bomb" means a device that:
(A) reasonably appears to be an explosive or incendiary device

Electronic components wired to a battery does not REASONABLY appear to be an explosive device because ... an explosive device necessarily requires explosive material.

(B) by its design causes alarm or reaction of any type by an official of a public safety agency or a volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies.[/b]

The fact that a device caused alarm to a teacher or school administrator is not germane as they are not an official of either (a) a public safety agency or (b) a volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies.

Mohamed took his homebrew clock to school to show a teacher, not to some public venue with it taped to his chest in an effort to ignite fear and panic.

Anonymous wrote:Texas definition of "hoax bomb"

13) "Hoax bomb" means a device that:
(A) reasonably appears to be an explosive or incendiary device

Electronic components wired to a battery does not REASONABLY appear to be an explosive device because ... an explosive device necessarily requires explosive material.

(B) by its design causes alarm or reaction of any type by an official of a public safety agency or a volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies.[/b]

The fact that a device caused alarm to a teacher or school administrator is not germane as they are not an official of either (a) a public safety agency or (b) a volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies.

Mohamed took his homebrew clock to school to show a teacher, not to some public venue with it taped to his chest in an effort to ignite fear and panic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me try and get this right. Let's assume that the teacher genuinely thought that the black case with wires and computery-looking stuff was a cause for concern and possibly even a bomb. So, what does the teacher do? She doesn't pull the fire alarm or evacuate the classroom or anything else to safeguard the students or school. Instead she sends the student to the office to let someone else deal with the situation. And had it truly been a bomb, or the student had some malicious act planned, he would have had the opportunity to put the plan in motion. Nothing about this whole episode makes any sense.

No, she thought it might be a "look-alike" weapon, which is prohibited according to school rules.[/quote

Bullsh*t. Did you even think about what you wrote? "[S]he thought it MIGHT be a 'look-alike' weapon ..." Give me a break.

That's the school point of view. This thing might be used to cause confusion and fear because while they realize it isn't a bomb, some people might think it was a bomb. That is the actual definition of a lookalike weapon. It isn't really a gun, but looks like a gun and so can cause fear or disruption. Whether the teacher reporting him through it was an actual bomb, or just something that could look like a bomb, she (he?) reported him to the principal for further determination.

It was a suspicious item (to the school) because it was a look-alike weapon. That's a judgment call, informed by one's knowledge of science and engineering.