# 14-year-old arrested for building a clock **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481 "2015-09-16T16:15:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/1 "2015-09-16T16:15:36Z")
[In Texas, of course](http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/16/9335965/ahmed-mohamed-14-year-old-arrested-clock-hoax-bomb). > [@](#): > > Police in Texas have arrested a 14-year-old boy for building a clock. Ahmed Mohamed, who lives in Irving and has a keen interest in robotics and engineering, put the device together on Sunday night. When he took it to school the next day, he was pulled out of class, interviewed by police officers, and taken in handcuffs to juvenile detention, after being told by teachers that his creation looked like a bomb. I love this part: > [@](#): > > Police spokesperson James McLellan said Ahmed “kept maintaining it was a clock” when he was brought in for interrogation, but that he offered “no broader explanation.” Um… It’s a clock. It tells you what time it is. I can imagine their further investigation of the kid’s belongings… ‘What’s this yellow thing? A weapon?’ ‘It’s a pencil.’ ‘Come on! You can do better than that!’ ‘Um… It’s a Number 2 pencil. You write with it.’ '_Explain this yellow thing!_ :eek: :mad: ’ But no, there’s no racism here. I’m sure if a White, nerdy, Christian kid built a clock, he’d be arrested too. I think that it’s just that the wingnuts are afraid of clocks. They remind them that their time is running out. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/2 "2015-09-16T16:17:30Z")
3…2…1 Hey, it stopped! [In The Pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=768809) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/3 "2015-09-16T16:24:29Z")
I grew up in Texas and Irving is a suburb of Dallas however and hardly hick central in case anyone was getting a mental image of rural Texas. Stick to the major cities is good advice. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/4 "2015-09-16T16:30:39Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > 3…2…1 Hey, it stopped! > > [In The Pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=768809) Ah. I rarely go to The Pit. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/5 "2015-09-16T16:33:45Z")
Obviously not a bomb. I’m not sure what the kid thinks he’s doing? the photos show commercially made circuit boards. scavenged from junk devices he must have found. He’s not actually building circuits from what I see. At most he’s wiring together old circuit boards to make something new. I was in electronics service for years and can’t see how he’d get it to work. One of the work study students in my college computer lab made a computer in a drawer. mounted the power supply, motherboard, plugged in his expansion cables and hard drive all in the desk drawer. he had cardboard to insulate everything from shorting out. pretty cool. Thats sort of what this kid is doing. just hooking up circuit boards he’s scavenged . [http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/northwest-dallas-county/headlines/20150915-irving-ninth-grader-arrested-after-taking-homemade-clock-to-school.ece](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/northwest-dallas-county/headlines/20150915-irving-ninth-grader-arrested-after-taking-homemade-clock-to-school.ece) ---
**Author:** ![AuntPam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@AuntPam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntPam)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/6 "2015-09-16T16:46:49Z")
Trying to grasp the mentality here: a nice kid with a bent towards electronics does a little home experimentation, proudly brings it to school, and shows it to a teacher–and gets arrested??? I hope the family sues the school district. I would love to hear the under-oath explanations. Seriously, nobody could call their brother-in-law who’s a digital design engineer and get an informed opinion?? How are these people smart enough to be teaching anything? Sheesh. I built a digital frequency counter when I first got introduced to the technology, just 'cause I thought it was a cool challenge. I suppose the cops will be here any minute. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/7 "2015-09-16T16:47:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Obviously not a bomb. > > I’m not sure what the kid thinks he’s doing? the photos show commercially made circuit boards. scavenged from junk devices he must have found. He’s not actually building circuits from what I see. At most he’s wiring together old circuit boards to make something new. I was in electronics service for years and can’t see how he’d get it to work. > > One of the work study students in my college computer lab made a computer in a drawer. mounted the power supply, motherboard, plugged in his expansion cables and hard drive all in the desk drawer. he had cardboard to insulate everything from shorting out. pretty cool. Thats sort of what this kid is doing. just hooking up circuit boards he’s scavenged . > > [http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/northwest-dallas-county/headlines/20150915-irving-ninth-grader-arrested-after-taking-homemade-clock-to-school.ece](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/northwest-dallas-county/headlines/20150915-irving-ninth-grader-arrested-after-taking-homemade-clock-to-school.ece) He is 14 and in high school, not an EE student showing off his project so yes it is still impressive for his age. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/8 "2015-09-16T16:48:35Z")
> [@AuntPam](#): > > Trying to grasp the mentality here: a nice kid with a bent towards electronics does a little home experimentation, proudly brings it to school, and shows it to a teacher–and gets arrested??? > > I hope the family sues the school district. I would love to hear the under-oath explanations. Seriously, nobody could call their brother-in-law who’s a digital design engineer and get an informed opinion?? How are these people smart enough to be teaching anything? > > Sheesh. I built a digital frequency counter when I first got introduced to the technology, just 'cause I thought it was a cool challenge. I suppose the cops will be here any minute. Welcome to the new reality, they ruined chemistry for kids because of paranoia about drugs looks like electronics is next. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/9 "2015-09-16T16:51:52Z")
Now, I have removed components from circuit boards to reuse. like the ic chips from the late 1980’s. they can be useful if you can find the data sheet for them. learn the pin out. then they can be reused in a newly designed circuit. todays chips are much harder to deal with. one chip might have 30 or more leads, each not much bigger than a hair. no way can a chip like this be unsoldered and removed without ruining it. [![](https://www.megasourceel.com/photo/pl1548888-integrated_circuit_chip_kb3310qf_c1computer_mainboard_chips_ic_chip.jpg) ](https://www.megasourceel.com/photo/pl1548888-integrated_circuit_chip_kb3310qf_c1computer_mainboard_chips_ic_chip.jpg) the kid needs a mentor to work with him on projects. learn circuit design and encourage him. the school and the police were idiots for confusing a homemade clock with a bomb. I hope maybe an internship somewhere opens up. Somewhere his interest in electronics gets encouraged. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/10 "2015-09-16T17:00:43Z")
It’s an injustice that he had to go through that, it would be a tragedy if it would ruin his love for creating things. You know what needs to happen? Someone should start one of those donation/funding drives to buy the kid a complete electronics kit. Soldering station, oscilloscope, components, logic probe, etc, etc… ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/11 "2015-09-16T17:03:47Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > It’s an injustice that he had to go through that, it would be a tragedy if it would ruin his love for creating things. > > You know what needs to happen? Someone should start one of those donation/funding drives to buy the kid a complete electronics kit. Soldering station, oscilloscope, components, logic probe, etc, etc… Check out the pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/12 "2015-09-16T17:08:34Z")
Wait, this kid with a terrorist-sounding name _built_ a clock when anyone can go into Wal-Mart and buy one for a couple of bucks? Sorry, doesn’t add up. This is clearly part of the onging muslim plot to impose Sharia Time on us all. Wake up, sheeple! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/13 "2015-09-16T17:16:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > **14-year-old arrested for building a clock** > > [In Texas, of course](http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/16/9335965/ahmed-mohamed-14-year-old-arrested-clock-hoax-bomb). Or, just as accurately, “In a public school, of course”. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/14 "2015-09-16T18:05:34Z")
Even if he was wearing a turban and screaming “Death to America” is so painfully obvious that the device is not a bomb that no adult should have believed otherwise. The fact that teachers, administrators, and law enforcement believed that this could be perceived as a bomb is troubling. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/15 "2015-09-16T18:07:35Z")
Man, the Sikhs just can catch a break. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/16 "2015-09-16T20:45:26Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Even if he was wearing a turban and screaming “Death to America” is so painfully obvious that the device is not a bomb that no adult should have believed otherwise. The fact that teachers, administrators, and law enforcement believed that this could be perceived as a bomb is troubling. The official line at the moment seems to be that it was a “hoax bomb.” His saying repeatedly that it was nothing but a clock somehow proved it _was_ a hoax bomb, thus justifying his detention and suspension. (And I’m pretty sure Benghazi was a factor as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/17 "2015-09-16T21:02:30Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > His saying repeatedly that it was nothing but a clock somehow proved it _was_ a hoax bomb, thus justifying his detention and suspension. Exactly. It would be a stupid terrorist who admits it’s a _real_ bomb! So insisting it’s not a bomb is ample evidence that it is. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/18 "2015-09-16T21:09:05Z")
My 11-year old loves taking apart old electronics and trying to make new things out of them (usually this involves hooking up motors and fans and LEDs to batteries). I’ve been encouraging his experimentation, but now I find I’ve been harboring a terrorist! Or would be, anyway, if his skin were a few shades darker. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/19 "2015-09-16T22:33:11Z")
No charges filed. He’s been invited to the White House. > **[Muslim teen Ahmed Mohamed creates clock, shows teachers, gets arrested | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/16/us/texas-student-ahmed-muslim-clock-bomb/)** > > Ahmed Mohamed loves robotics and inventing, but when he brought a clock he made to his Texas school, he was arrested. Critics blame Islamophobia. They do sell student electronics trainer kits. heres one that can make hundreds of experiments and interfaces with a PC. > **[Amazon.com: Snap Circuits Extreme SC-750R Electronics Exploration Kit + Student...](https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-750R-Electronics-Exploration/dp/B000IXMP6Q)** > > Amazon.com: Snap Circuits Extreme SC-750R Electronics Exploration Kit + Student Training Program with Student Study Guide | Perfect for STEM Curriculum : Toys & Games > [@](#): > > Ahmed, who aspires to go to MIT, said he was pleased the charges were dropped and not bothered that police didn’t apologize for arresting him. > [@](#): > > President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and thousands of others are showing support for Ahmed. > > “Cool clock, Ahmed,” Obama tweeted. “Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.” > > The President would like the teen to join him and other scientists next month for the White House’s annual Astronomy Night, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday. > > Ahmed said Wednesday he was going to the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481/20 "2015-09-16T22:37:20Z")
As an electronics hobbyist, practical joker and all around PITA in high school, I built and took things to class that would probably bring down a Homeland Security raid today. A clock that vaguely resembled a bomb timer? Kee-rist, I build a box that shocked people when they picked it up. Had loads of fun with it. Then there was shining the laser (a new, rare toy) all the way across the quad to create shiny, fuzzy glowing balls in front of metal door plates and such. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-year-old-arrested-for-building-a-clock/731481.md?page=2)