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Ahmed Mohamed: No charges for boy, 14, arrested over clock
  • 16 September 2015
Ahmed Mohamed told reporters he was pleased the charges against him were dropped
Texas police have decided not to charge a 14-year-old Muslim boy arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school.

Officials at MacArthur High School in Irving alerted police because they thought the device was a "hoax bomb".

Ahmed Mohamed's arrest has been You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., and the boy has received an outpouring of support including an You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..

Ahmed told reporters it was "very sad" that his teacher thought his clock was a threat.

"I built a clock to impress my teacher but when I showed it to her she thought it was a threat to her. I'm very sad that she got the wrong impression of it."

At the same news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Ahmed announced he plans to transfer schools.

Ahmed's father Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who is originally from Sudan, praised his son's ingenuity, saying he fixes everything around the house, including his father's phone and computer.

"He's a very smart, brilliant boy and he said he just wanted to show himself to the world," he said.

The police have rejected the claim made by Ahmed's family that he was detained because of his name.

"We have always had an outstanding relationship with the Muslim community," Irving Police Department chief Larry Boyd said on Wednesday. "Incidents like this present challenges. We want to learn how we can move forward and turn this into a positive".

The boy was placed in handcuffs and fingerprinted. He was released after it was determined there was no threat.

_85589317_4163c0e1-3c48-44ab-af0f-c53360632e81.jpgImage copyrightAnil Dash
Image captionPolice said Ahmed Mohammed was arrested for bringing a "hoax bomb" to school
_85589586_16e23342-6ce7-4c4f-b176-88d94cf667b3.jpgImagecopyrightReuters
Image captionThe Irving Police Department provided this photo of the homemade clock
Under the hashtag "You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.," thousands of Twitter users praised the boy's initiative and questioned why he was detained including You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.,You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. and US President Barack Obama.

"Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great," Mr Obama wrote on Twitter.

The You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. says it is investigating the incident.

Ahmed said that he had made a clock at home and brought it to school to show his engineering teacher.

He said his engineering teacher had congratulated him but advised him "not to show any other teachers".

_85584168_clockpotus.jpgImage copyrightTwitter
_85588577_2820b37e-ce32-46d1-9911-590aa3e97c1d.jpgImage copyrightFacebook
The teenager said another teacher became aware of it when the device beeped during the lesson.

"She was like - it looks like a bomb," he said.

The homemade clock consisted of a circuit board with wires leading to a digital display.

Later in the day the boy was pulled out of class, interviewed by senior teachers and four police officers, and put into juvenile detention.

The school issued a statement saying it "always ask our students and staff to immediately report if they observe any suspicious items".

_85588571_a5c62ffd-49f1-4d70-ab22-9830b7266382.jpgImage copyrightTwitter
Image captionA Twitter account has been set up in Ahmed's name
 

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