Texas 14-year-old arrested for homemade clock that looked like a bomb

[wmenorr67]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/16/texas-14-year-old-arrested-for-bringing-homemade-clock-to-school-after-teacher/?intcmp=hplnws

Shop/Engineering teacher warned the kid, English teacher and rest of school admin as well as the police go off the deep end.

[makattak]

Muslim trolling for outrage. This was done on purpose, I am sure.

[dogmush]

Let me be the first to say:



And SOOOO Much fail on the schools part.  and the cops.

"It could reasonably be mistaken as a device if left in a bathroom or under a car," Irving police spokesman James McLellan told the News.

OK, Sherlock.  Was it left in any of those places?  No.  It was in the builder's possession.

"The concern was, what was this thing built for? Do we take him into custody?" McClellan admitted that Mohamed has always maintained the device was a clock and officers have no reason to believe the contraption is dangerous.

It was built because it's a good project for a 89th grader that wants to build things?  and has an Engineering teacher?  Or is that too simple?

What *expletive deleted*ing useless public servants employees we have.  Take it from someone that has been through several IED classes. Bombs don't look like clocks with wires.  They look like pretty much ANYTHING else.  How did we become so pussified as a country?

That said, I do like the Engineering Teachers (alleged) response:

"He was like, 'That’s really nice,'" Mohamed told the paper. "'I would advise you not to show any other teachers.'"

Optional subtext: "Because my coworkers are simpering cowards and morons."

[dogmush]

Muslim trolling for outrage. This was done on purpose, I am sure.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=build+a+digital+clock+kit

or this is a pretty standard beginner project for kids wanting to learn electronics.

[makattak]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=build+a+digital+clock+kit

or this is a pretty standard beginner project for kids wanting to learn electronics.

Of course it is an easy starter project. However, a 14 year old (especially one crafting electronics) is aware enough to know exactly what his shop teacher warned him. He was doing this for the outrage that CAIR is dutifully supplying.

[makattak]

Here's some key quotes:

“Here in high school, none of the teachers know what I can do,” Ahmed said, fiddling with a cable while a soldering iron dangled from the shelf behind him.

He loved robotics club in middle school and was searching for a similar niche in his first few weeks of high school.

So he decided to do what he’s always done: He built something.

Ahmed’s clock was hardly his most elaborate creation. He said he threw it together in about 20 minutes before bedtime on Sunday: a circuit board and power supply wired to a digital display, all strapped inside a case with a tiger hologram on the front.

He showed it to his engineering teacher first thing Monday morning and didn’t get quite the reaction he’d hoped for.

“He was like, ‘That’s really nice,’” Ahmed said. “‘I would advise you not to show any other teachers.’”

So he built something very cheap and easy to "prove what he could do" to the teachers.

I'm sticking with my troll assessment.

[AJ Dual]

Here's some key quotes:

So he built something very cheap and easy to "prove what he could do" to the teachers.

I'm sticking with my troll assessment.

That the father was getting public attention for debating the Koran-burning pastor in Florida when they lived there, and that the mayor of the current town where this takes place has been in the news for some kind of anti-Islamic positions, anti-Sharia or whatever... my smell-o-meter is starting to wiggle on the coincidence scale.

That said, the school and the police were phenomenally stupid for falling for it, just as much as if it actually is the case of the "poor little muslim electronics prodigy"-boy.

[zxcvbob]

Here's the first one I found, looking for a build-a-clock kit:

[KD5NRH]

What *expletive deleted*ing useless public servants employees we have.  Take it from someone that has been through several IED classes. Bombs don't look like clocks with wires.  They look like pretty much ANYTHING else.

Note to self; if I ever need to build a bomb to slip past the experts, make it look like a clock with wires.

Of course, the first question any of the "adults" should have asked themselves is "Is there any part of this that's big enough to be a meaningful explosive, and not readily identifiable as a common non-explosive device?"  The only thing that comes to mind in a typical clock build is the AA batteries, and those are a familiar enough object that making a passable TNT-filled replica is likely beyond the ability of an 8th grader.  Now, maybe if he assembled it all with a pound of Blu-Tack, I could see thinking it's a bomb, but there's no mention of any odd parts in the story.

[roo_ster]

Muslim trolling for outrage. This was done on purpose, I am sure.

Yep.  MOMIN and affiliated jokers have been hot & heavy locally.  These were the folks who held the tribute to Ayatollah Khomeini a few years back.

There are beau coup muzzies locally and they get treated with kid gloves by all the gov't bureauweenies, especially the school districts. 

Jihadijoker was counting on an Ed School graduate not having the electronics understanding to be able to discern between a cheesy electronics project and an OMGBOMB.

[RevDisk]

I am sincerely hoping this is just an example of stupid security theater, combined with stupid school administrators. If the kid was used or encouraged to play into a publicity stunt, I really feel for him. What would be worse, the realization that adults are incredibly stupid and hostile, or that your parents care more about a political agenda than you?

Kid gets "innocent until proven guilty" in my eyes. Yes, it smells a bit. But hell, I was a kid during Columbine. Don't underestimate the power of Derp in education today.

[wmenorr67]

I think what is more upsetting is this happened in Texas, even if it was Irving.

[wmenorr67]

I guess a boy being arrested for building a clock is more important to the President than two UNITED STATES Service Members and an UNITED STATES civilian stopping a terrorist attack in France.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/usworld/president-obama-tweets-to-muslim-boy-arrested-for-bringing-homemade/article_24da7f6c-fae5-560b-a366-47c7873beb69.html

President Barack Obama has invited a 14-year-old Muslim student to the White House after the teen was detained by police for taking a homemade clock to school that teachers thought looked like a bomb.

[makattak]

I guess a boy being arrested for building a clock is more important to the President than two UNITED STATES Service Members and an UNITED STATES civilian stopping a terrorist attack in France.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/usworld/president-obama-tweets-to-muslim-boy-arrested-for-bringing-homemade/article_24da7f6c-fae5-560b-a366-47c7873beb69.html
 

Yes, it is more important to this president. And?

[Perd Hapley]

http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/parenting/aisha-sultan/a-clock-is-not-a-bomb-and-texas-institution-that/article_1668bed2-a1f1-511a-8a06-09320ee8a22a.html

A clock is not a bomb. An institution that shuts down learning is not a school.

I could take the Post-Disgrace more seriously on this if there was any mention of the similarity to the great Pop-Tart gun scare of '13. (Which makes Clockmania look quite judicious, by comparison.)

And if I didn't suspect them of just taking the brown guy's side.

[KD5NRH]

I could take the Post-Disgrace more seriously on this if there was any mention of the similarity to the great Pop-Tart gun scare of '13. (Which makes Clockmania look quite judicious, by comparison.)

Don't forget the Mooninites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare

[zxcvbob]

I finally found a pic of the suspicious device (most news reports seem to be avoiding showing the picture)

[Blakenzy]

Well, that clearly is a doomsday device that only Dr. Strangelove could understand. Shame on the police for not pinning him down on the floor and shooting him seven times in the head. Oh, wait, that's reserved for Brazilians who dare run through the subway, pardon me, the underground in London...

Just how stupid do people get in the name of "security" 

[zxcvbob]

News reports say the school suspended him for 3 days.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Muslim trolling for outrage. This was done on purpose, I am sure.

I doubt that. Research the kids dad. He's not typical of what we expect


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Perd Hapley]

Well, that clearly is a doomsday device that only Dr. Strangelove could understand. Shame on the police for not pinning him down on the floor and shooting him seven times in the head. Oh, wait, that's reserved for Brazilians who dare run through the subway, pardon me, the underground in London...

Just how stupid do people get in the name of "security" 

On the other hand, it doesn't look like any clock I've ever seen.

[Fitz]

I'm kinda surprised by the reactions of some in this thread.

If this was a white kid getting suspended for making gun-shaped legos, would the reaction be the same?

[Firethorn]

On the other hand, it doesn't look like any clock I've ever seen.

It doesn't?  I see a huge(unpowered) LCD/LED number screen of the traditional 88:88 sort, a control board for it, a 9V plug for power, a buzzer(for the alarm), and a board that probably has the chips for the timing and deciding which LCD spots to activate.

What I don't see:  Any blocks that could be explosives.

As for comparing this for importance to the president for the incident in France.  Consider that he has official channels to congratulate service members that will mean a lot more to them, and their careers, than twitter.

[Fitz]

It doesn't?  I see a huge(unpowered) LCD/LED number screen of the traditional 88:88 sort, a control board for it, a 9V plug for power, a buzzer(for the alarm), and a board that probably has the chips for the timing and deciding which LCD spots to activate.

What I don't see:  Any blocks that could be explosives.

As for comparing this for importance to the president for the incident in France.  Consider that he has official channels to congratulate service members that will mean a lot more to them, and their careers, than twitter.

Official channels like, for example, a two-rank meritorious promotion



As to the comment above about his teacher "warning him" etc.

Isn't this the same crowd of people who claim that "assault weapons" bans are based on looks, rather than capability, and are idiotic as a result.


In a free society, a couple of teachers thinking that a non-bomb is a bomb shouldn't result in suspension, arrest, or anything else. I thought we were against "zero tolerance" garbage?

[Andiron]

I'm kinda surprised by the reactions of some in this thread.

If this was a white kid getting suspended for making gun-shaped legos, would the reaction be the same?

Salient point for me is the father, and how quickly CAIR jumped in. 


Otherwise I'd agree with you.