His story gained the attention of President Barack Obama, who posted a supportive Tweet on Wednesday.
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Ahmed Mohamed was arrested by police because school officials thought his invention looked like a bomb. Mohamed was taken to a juvenile detention centre after teachers and police officers said they believed his clock could have been used in a bomb.
President Barack Obama and other government officials also expressed support for Ahmed through the social media.
The White House then invited Ahmed to Astronomy Night in October, an annual event that brings together astronauts, scientists and other professionals.
Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, said his son was arrested and mistreated in front of his friends and his teachers.
Ahmed thanked all his supporters in a press conference, mentioning that he will accept the White House invitation and change his school.
“We live in an age where you can’t take things like that to school”, he said. “It’s what makes America great”, Obama’s Twitter account tweeted.
Ahmed has also found support from Silicon Valley, with Mark Zuckerberg asking him to visit Facebook.
Except what Ahmed had actually done is simply brought in a clock he’d made to show teachers…
“In this instance, it’s clear that at least some of Ahmed’s teachers failed him”.
Chief Larry Boyd said Ahmed should have been “forthcoming” by going beyond the description that what he made was a clock. While Pharrell Williams encouraged him to keep creating, “Ahmed, it’s innovative, curious, bright minds like yours who move humanity forward”.
“Ahmed, if you ever want to come by Facebook, I’d love to meet you”, he added. No charges will be filed and the case is considered closed.
Do you think the school and the police handled this appropriately?
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In 2014, Florida’s Miami-Dade County Public Schools became the first school district in the nation to officially adopt the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Something”, campaign. He was subsequently handcuffed, detained and fingerprinted by the authorities, but the police released Ahmed on the same day after they were able to determine there was no threat.
