High School student arrestsed for bringing homemade clock to school.

[Jennasis]

It can't be a bomb. There isn't any explosive component to it. Just wires and circuits.

 

[PlutoPony]

I'm surprised more aren't talking about the effect this will likely have on other students at the school. A lot of kids tinker and make "inventions" in their own time. Talk to any science teacher for that age group and they'll tell you about the kids that clearly have an interest and aptitude for engineering and the sciences. So now these kids think you can get in trouble for doing something perfectly innocent that they're really interested in and encouraged to do by teacher, parents, etc. And if they have a non-American sounding last name - forget it.

 

[JaxDad]

Well, first off, people expect to have to worry more about what things may look like when flying than in normal situations so I think it is kind of a silly justification for the stance that Ahmed's treatment was reasonable.

So, now you are implying that I am trying to justify that what happened was reasonable? Where the heck are you getting that? I have prefaced all my comments with the statement that I don't know what happened.

I honestly would not try to carry this device on a plane. I think it would give even trained personnel pause, so why go there.

 

[mnrose]

I"m 100% certain that if the kid were white with a nice white sounding name this whole thing would never have happened.

It was a crazy overreaction to a brown kid with a Muslim name bringing a circuit board to school.

My kid is building a computer in my family room. The parts look a LOT like what is in the suitcase. Not a bomb though. No explosives.

 

[NHdisneylover]

So, now you are implying that I am trying to justify that what happened was reasonable? Where the heck are you getting that? I have prefaced all my comments with the statement that I don't know what happened.

I honestly would not try to carry this device on a plane. I think it would give even trained personnel pause, so why go there.

I thought you said no one knew what happened behind closed doors and there would be a reason--or am I mixing up posters?

I think that the charge made it clear the arrest was about the clock being seen as a fake bomb and not about any other issue that might have happened and i think the police chief stating that "there’s no evidence to support the perception he intended to create alarm,” And the failure to evacuate the school makes it pretty clear no one seriously thought this was a bomb for any length of time.

So yes, I would say that you seem to be saying there is "more to the story" the police might have grounds to handcuff and arrest this kid. I totally disagree, even the chief of police says they made a "naive mistake" so it is silly to keep saying there even could have been a good reason. Sounds like the police chief is willing to own this as a mess up by his department.

 

[JaxDad]

I said there could be more to the story, based on what I read in the NY Times article. I do not know what actually happened. I also do not know the policies of that school or the laws in that town which cover such incidents and define proper LE procedures. This is not the same as me trying to justify any of the player's actions as reasonable.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I thought this thread could use a little light heartedness

 

[EMAW_KSU]

Looks like stuff I made/hacked as a kid. Mine would have had a bunch of batteries taped together instead of a power transformer.

 

[JoeA]

What I cannot understand is why, lacking any evidences that it was anything other than a clock. and with the student repeating that it was a clock and never indicating otherwise, the student was handcuffed and taken away from school.

I read a quote from the LEO that said he should have been "more forthcoming". Evidently in TX, when you're asked a question and say, "It's a clock and nothing but a clock" that is not considered "forthcoming" enough and you're accused of building a fake bomb.

 

[Disneychick75]

“If the family is willing to give us written permission, we would be happy to share with the public the other side of the story so they can understand the actions we took,” Irving Independent School District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver said.The parents will not allow Ahmed's interview to be published. They are fully within their rights to do this. It might help to clear up confusion as to the overreaction though. Ahmed did show the clock to his engineering teacher who told him NOT to show it to anyone else. The clock went off in his English Class. His teacher was not happy. He brought it to the teacher at the end of class. The teacher kept it and Ahmed was pulled out of class in 6th period.

Hopefully, because the reaction has been over the top all he way around, people will still "See something, say something". The next briefcase clock brought into a school may not be a clock but a bomb that explodes. Then, of course, teachers/admins will be blamed for not taking action.

 

[Unas]

It can't be a bomb. There isn't any explosive component to it. Just wires and circuits.

Heck, the kid's name is Ahmed. Who knows, maybe mom had him swallow some explosive so he could use the clock as a detonator.

“If the family is willing to give us written permission, we would be happy to share with the public the other side of the story so they can understand the actions we took,” Irving Independent School District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver said.The parents will not allow Ahmed's interview to be published. They are fully within their rights to do this. It might help to clear up confusion as to the overreaction though. Ahmed did show the clock to his engineering teacher who told him NOT to show it to anyone else. The clock went off in his English Class. His teacher was not happy. He brought it to the teacher at the end of class. The teacher kept it and Ahmed was pulled out of class in 6th period.

Hopefully, because the reaction has been over the top all he way around, people will still "See something, say something". The next briefcase clock brought into a school may not be a clock but a bomb that explodes. Then, of course, teachers/admins will be blamed for not taking action.

Got links?

 

[Disneychick75]

Heck, the kid's name is Ahmed. Who knows, maybe mom had him swallow some explosive so he could use the clock as a detonator.



Got links?

Saw it on a Yahoo feed from yesterday. Just searched and can't find it. I did find this:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/comm...ted-after-taking-homemade-clock-to-school.ece

"Irving ISD spokeswoman Lesley Weaver also addressed the media, saying that information “made public to this point has been very unbalanced.”

She declined to provide details on how school officials handled the incident, citing laws intended to safeguard student privacy."

The boy and his family family can tell the story from their point of view but the ISD cannot say anything without the parent's permission.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-after-bringing-a-home-built-clock-to-school/

"
So on Sunday night, he quickly put together a homemade digital clock (“just something small,” as he casually put it to the Dallas Morning News: a circuit board and power supply connected to a digital display) and proudly offered it to his engineering teacher the next day.

But the teacher looked wary.

He was like, ‘That’s really nice,’” Mohamed told the Dallas Morning News. “‘I would advise you not to show any other teachers."'

 

[FlightlessDuck]

To be honest, I got a bit lost in the thread, but there will be no charges filed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34266389

 

[Jennasis]

Im sure there is more to the story, and since no charges will be filed and the kid will probably get a full ride scholarship (he sounds like a super smart kiddo!), hopefully the family will just let it drop.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I thought this thread could use a little light heartedness

Yes but like all their cars, we know it's just going to malfunction.

 

[sam_gordon]

Hopefully, because the reaction has been over the top all he way around, people will still "See something, say something". The next briefcase clock brought into a school may not be a clock but a bomb that explodes. Then, of course, teachers/admins will be blamed for not taking action.

So *IF* a teacher thought this was a bomb...

1) Why was the classroom or school not evactuated?
2) Why was the bomb squad not called?

 

[EMAW_KSU]

So *IF* a teacher thought this was a bomb...

1) Why was the classroom or school not evactuated?
2) Why was the bomb squad not called?

The only logical answer I can think of is they knew it was not a bomb because it they thought there was a 0.0001% chance it was a bomb 1 and 2 have to happen.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I read a quote from the LEO that said he should have been "more forthcoming". Evidently in TX, when you're asked a question and say, "It's a clock and nothing but a clock" that is not considered "forthcoming" enough and you're accused of building a fake bomb.

So true. It doesn't get much more forthcoming than it's a clock. See look. It's a clock.

Not forthcoming means he didn't cave under pressure and falsely say he he did it as a hoax like they wanted him to to Cover their rumps.

 

[DopeyDame]

“If the family is willing to give us written permission, we would be happy to share with the public the other side of the story so they can understand the actions we took,” Irving Independent School District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver said.The parents will not allow Ahmed's interview to be published. They are fully within their rights to do this. It might help to clear up confusion as to the overreaction though. Ahmed did show the clock to his engineering teacher who told him NOT to show it to anyone else. The clock went off in his English Class. His teacher was not happy. He brought it to the teacher at the end of class. The teacher kept it and Ahmed was pulled out of class in 6th period.

Hopefully, because the reaction has been over the top all he way around, people will still "See something, say something". The next briefcase clock brought into a school may not be a clock but a bomb that explodes. Then, of course, teachers/admins will be blamed for not taking action.

Sounds to me like the English teacher was pissy his alarm clock went off in class. I'd be pissy too, if I were her. I could easily see myself taking the clock and even sending it to the principal's office to be picked up at the end of the day. And I can see someone in the principals office saying "*** is this thing?" and calling him to the office to explain.

I wouldn't however, call the police and continue to suspend the kid.

 

[JaxDad]

So *IF* a teacher thought this was a bomb...

1) Why was the classroom or school not evactuated?
2) Why was the bomb squad not called?

I have wondered about this too. As sources have indicated, there could be more to this story.

I guess it is possible that the school knew it was not a bomb, but something about the overall situation caused them to eventually call the police.

I read in one source that the clock made a sound while in Ahmed's bag during English class AND in another that he plugged it in after class to show the English teacher. The second seems more likely to me, since the clock appears to be AC. This just shows that different sources have different "facts." The English teacher then kept the clock. Ahmed was later pulled from another class ("sixth period"). I don't know how much later that was. I am a little curious about what happened in that intervening time. Did the English teacher just go to the principal to determine what to do? Did they talk to the Science teacher? Did Ahmed say anything to anybody? It really doesn't matter, but it is still interesting, since it may help explain all that happened later.