^ if they thought it was a bomb, why not evacuate the school? And the teacher kept the clock?

 

Sounds to me like there is more to this. Total speculation, but how do we not know if this boy joked with his friends (as 14 yr-olds will) that his clock looked like a bomb? Maybe, maybe not. How do we know if he had been warned before regarding homemade electronics? Maybe, maybe not. If you really think about it, how many 14-yr olds are so proud of a clock they make (whether it looks like a bomb or not) that they take it in to school to proudly show their teacher? The average 14-yr old I know would be much more proud to show off to his friends how much his clock looks like a bomb.

Maybe it lacks "depth" because it was shallow? That this is all there is to it?

 

And if they thought it was a bomb, the teacher keeping the clock and the school not being evacuated is not erring on the side of caution.

 

Also, who took the photo of a minor in handcuffs?

 

You may be 100% correct. I have no idea. I just know that whatever the "correct" version is will be difficult to assess because the media will be promoting the version that gets the ratings.

^ speculation. The facts we know are the only facts we know. If something is not known as fact at this point it's speculation. As of now it looks as if they discriminated against the boy because of his name and or possible religion. If it is anything else then that will come out, it's not fair to speculate things that are not facts.

 

I had a friend when I was growing up who it seemed that he spent about every dollar he had on radio shack, because of his interest in that kind of thing soon after graduating college he was making 6 figures a year. It's not odd at all that a boy would be proud of something they created. The fact that he did show it to the engineering teacher should point out the intent of the clock. And again, why wasn't the school evacuated? That speaks volumes.

But, this will all get sorted out soon enough. If the school was wrong then I would expect a settlement that we won't hear about. Or the kid had other motives and we will hear about it for two weeks in the media.

 

As you said, the media doesn't care about facts as much as ratings.

The school district has declined comment. So if one doesn't like the "slant" of the stories, perhaps it would be helpful if the school district explained why the youngster was (a) arrested; (b) handcuffed; and © suspended.

 

Declining to offer explanations just fuels allegations that this is a simple example of Islamophobia.

 

Link to Washington Post version of this story below:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/16/they-thought-it-was-a-bomb-ahmed-mohamed-texas-9th-grader-arrested-after-bringing-a-home-built-clock-to-school/

Ahmed Mohamed = Go straight to jail, don't pass Go

 

Jack Smith = You win Park Place and $10,000 bonus

 

I asked because of the officer's comment about expecting it to be the kid despite the kid having no prior history.

Sounds to me like there is more to this. Total speculation, but how do we not know if this boy joked with his friends (as 14 yr-olds will) that his clock looked like a bomb? Maybe, maybe not. How do we know if he had been warned before regarding homemade electronics? Maybe, maybe not. If you really think about it, how many 14-yr olds are so proud of a clock they make (whether it looks like a bomb or not) that they take it in to school to proudly show their teacher? The average 14-yr old I know would be much more proud to show off to his friends how much his clock looks like a bomb.

 

Didn't the story talk about how this kid builds stuff or fiddles around with things like this?

President ObamaVerified account ‏@POTUS

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.

Police chief said he will not be charged.

Here's an updated story with pictures of the clock as well as the kid being cuffed.

 

This statement will catch some attention:

 

During questioning, officers repeatedly brought up his last name, Mohamed said.

 

?They thought it was a bomb': 9th grader arrested after bringing a home-built clock to school - The Washington Post

Scientists show support for Ahmed. Link below.

 

Scientists react to Ahmed Mohamed's arrest for building a clock - Tech Insider

It looks a little more questionable in those pics.

I did not read the story so I will assume the young man is Muslim. The young man, or his parents, should share this story with everyone at his mosque and tell them this is what extremists are doing to us. This is not a government problem. This is an Islamic extremist problem. If I were the young man's parent, I would stand before the people in my mosque and tell them, "Any of you who are extremists are to blame for this arrest. If you know an extremist and do not try to save him or her, you are to blame. You are bringing ill will to our faith. You caused this problem and are hurting all Muslims with extremist talk and actions, or lack of action. Do not blame anyone except the extremists for this. Let's take our faith back from the extremists."

The response was way over the top, should have been easy to verify what it was and move on from there. I would not think any discipline at all would be necessary. Just let him know that while it was a neat gadget, in these times it's easy to spook people and to be aware of that in the future.

 

However, I hope this negative publicity does not lead to a lesser response next time. I hope any future incidents that may happen are quickly investigated. The tendency might be to be gun shy and possibly let something slip by rather than risk another round of embarrassment.

The question I would ask the school is IF you had a concern that it was a real bomb why did you not evacuate?