A 14-year-old Irving MacArthur High School student will not be charged, but his family blame fear of Islam for his arrest connected to a "hoax bomb." (Published Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015) 
 
 Update: Irving police said Wednesday the teen will not face charges. Read the update here. 
 
 A 14-year-old North Texas student and his family blame fear of Islam for his arrest on charges of making a “hoax bomb.” 
 
 Ahmed Mohamed, a freshman at Irving MacArthur High School, said he took an electronic clock he built over the weekend to school Monday morning to show his first period engineering teacher his skill with making things. 
 
 "I wanted to start clean with the teacher by showing him my inventions and stuff," he said. 
 
 Teen Says He's Falsely Accused of Making 'Hoax Bomb' 
 
 A 14-year-old Irving MacArthur High School student and his family blame fear of Islam for his arrest on charges of “hoax bomb.” (Published Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015) 
 
 Mohamed said problems arose when the clock rang in his back pack in class with a second teacher later in the day. He said he showed that teacher the device after other students had left the room. 
 
 "She said, ‘Well it looks like a bomb. Don’t show it to anyone else,’" he said. "And she decides to take it from me." 
 
 Mohamed said police handcuffed him and took him to Irving police headquarters for interrogation, fingerprints and mug shots. He said his family surname repeatedly came up in police questioning. 
 
 "I tried making a phone call to my father. They said, ‘You’re in the middle of an interrogation. You can’t have a phone call,'" he said. "I really don’t think it’s fair, because I brought something to school that wasn’t a threat to anyone. I didn’t do anything wrong. I just showed my teachers something and I end up being arrested later that day." 
 
 His father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, said he drove his son to school Monday morning and encouraged him to demonstrate his gift for technology. 
 
 "We are in the melting pot," the father said. "We are in the greatest country. We need this trouble not to hinder us, as Muslims, as Christians, as Jews, or whatever you are.” 
 
 Irving Student Says He's Falsely Accused of Hoax Bomb 
 
 A 14-year-old Irving High School student is accused of making a hoax bomb, but he says it was a clock he brought to school to show an engineering teacher. Ahmed Mohamed says there was never a threat, and he and his father believe it's a case of discrimination because of their religion. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015) 
 
 Irving police released a report Tuesday that lists three MacArthur High teachers as complainants against the teen on the charge of “hoax bomb.” Irving Police Officer James McLellan said school officials simply thought the device was suspicious and acted out of caution. 
 
 "Clearly, there were disassembled clock parts in there, but he offered no more explanation than that," McLellan said. "A lot of these details that the family and he have provided to you were not shared with us yesterday. He was very much less than forthcoming." 
 
 McLellan said the police investigation is not completed. 
 
 Irving Independent School District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver said Tuesday their main focus was student safety. 
 
 "We are never going to take any chances for any of their safety," she said. "It doesn't matter what child would have brought a suspicious looking item. We still would have taken the same actions." 
 
 Weaver said it's frustrating to not be able to provide the school's perspective. 
 
 "If the family is willing to give us written permission, we would be happy to share with the public the other side of the story so they can understand the actions we took," she said. 
 
 Weaver also issued the following statement on behalf of the Irving ISD Tuesday: 
 
 “Around 3 p.m. yesterday, a MacArthur High School student was arrested on campus by the Irving Police Department. School officials have been cooperating fully with the police investigation, and while privacy laws prevent us from sharing specific details about student discipline, we can assure everyone that school administrators are handling the situation in accordance with the Irving ISD Student Code of Conduct and applicable laws. We always ask our students and staff to immediately report if they observe any suspicious items and/or suspicious behavior. If something is out of the ordinary, the information should be reported immediately to a school administrator and/or the police so it can be addressed right away. We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students and keep our school community as safe as possible.” 
 
 The teen and his father want the case closed and the “clock” device returned to them. 
 
 “I don’t want to see anybody go through what I went through,” Ahmed Mohamed said. 
 
 NBC 5's Ellen Bryan contributed to this report. ||||| Irving’s police chief announced Wednesday that charges won’t be filed against Ahmed Mohamed, the MacArthur High School freshman arrested Monday after he brought what school officials and police described as a “hoax bomb” on campus. 
 
 At a joint press conference with Irving ISD, Chief Larry Boyd said the device — confiscated by an English teacher despite the teen’s insistence that it was a clock — was “certainly suspicious in nature.” 
 
 School officers questioned Ahmed about the device and why Ahmed had brought it to school. Boyd said Ahmed was then handcuffed “for his safety and for the safety of the officers” and taken to a juvenile detention center. He was later released to his parents, Boyd said. 
 
 “The follow-up investigation revealed the device apparently was a homemade experiment, and there’s no evidence to support the perception he intended to create alarm,” Boyd said, describing the incident as a “naive accident.” 
 
 Asked if the teen’s religious beliefs factored into his arrest, Boyd said the reaction “would have been the same” under any circumstances. 
 
 “We live in an age where you can’t take things like that to school,” he said. “Of course we’ve seen across our country horrific things happen, so we have to err on the side of caution.” 
 
 The chief touted the “outstanding relationship” he’s had with the Muslim community in Irving. He said he talked to members of the Muslim community this morning and plans to meet with Ahmed's father later today. 
 
 Speaking at an afternoon news conference outside the family’s home, Ahmed’s father said he’s proud of his son and wowed by his skills. 
 
 “He fixed my phone, my car, my computer,” Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed said. “He is a very smart, brilliant kid.” 
 
 Mohamed said he’s lived in America for 30 years, but this was a new experience for him. 
 
 “That is not America,” Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed said of his son’s humiliation after being handcuffed in front of his classmates. 
 
 But Mohamed said he’s also been touched by the outpouring of support for his son. 
 
 “What is happening is touching the heart of everyone with children,” he said. “And that is America.” 
 
 Ahmed, himself, also spoke, saying he was saddened by the initial reaction his invention provoked but amazed at what has followed. 
 
 “It made me really happy to see all these people support me,” he said. 
 
 The teen said he hasn’t spoken to anyone from MacArthur High, where he was suspended until Thursday. 
 
 “I’m thinking about transferring from MacArthur to any other school,” Ahmed said. 
 
 Irving ISD spokeswoman Lesley Weaver also addressed the media, saying that information “made public to this point has been very unbalanced.” 
 
 She declined to provide details on how school officials handled the incident, citing laws intended to safeguard student privacy. 
 
 “We were doing everything with an abundance of caution to protect all of our students in Irving,” she said. 
 
 Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne took to Facebook to defend the actions of the school district and police, saying their daily work helped make Irving “one of the safest cities in the country.” 
 
 “I do not fault the school or the police for looking into what they saw as a potential threat,” Van Duyne wrote. “We have all seen terrible and violent acts committed in schools. ... Perhaps some of those could have been prevented and lives could have been spared if people were more vigilant.” 
 
 The mayor later amended her post, acknowledging that she would be “very upset” had the same thing happened to her own child. 
 
 “It is my sincere desire that Irving ISD students are encouraged to use their creativity, develop innovations and explore their interests in a manner that fosters higher learning,” Van Duyne wrote. “Hopefully, we can all learn from this week’s events and the student, who has obvious gifts, will not feel at all discouraged from pursuing his talent in electronics and engineering.” 
 
 Shortly after the press conference, President Barack Obama extended a Twitter invitation for Ahmed to bring his “cool clock” to the White House. “We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great,” the tweet read. 
 
 Josh Earnest, Obama's press secretary, said the case goes to show how stereotypes can cloud the judgment of even the most “good-hearted people.” 
 
 “It’s clear that at least some of Ahmed's teachers failed him,” Earnest said. “That’s too bad, but it’s not too late for all of us to use this as a teachable moment and to search our own conscience for biases in whatever form they take.” 
 
 The White House also extended the teen an invitation to speak with NASA scientists and astronauts at next month’s Astronomy Night. 
 
 Ahmed, still wearing the NASA shirt he was arrested in, said Wednesday that he gladly accepted the White House invitation. 
 
 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also joined the social media chorus, extending an open invitation to visit and exhorting Ahmed to “keep building.” 
 
 “Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest,” Zuckerberg wrote. “The future belongs to people like Ahmed.” 
 
 Earlier Wednesday at a modest, red-brick house in central Irving, Ahmed and his family welcomed media crews at the front door and in the backyard as they tried to come to grips with the boy’s overnight ascension to international celebrity. 
 
 His sisters, 18-year-old Eyman and 17-year-old Ayisha, could hardly keep up with the tweets and stunning news about their little brother. Because Ahmed was never much for social media, the girls set up a Twitter account for him, @IStandWithAhmed, and watched it balloon to thousands of followers within hours. 
 
 “We’re trending No. 1!” Ayisha cried to her sister, holding a cellphone over a stuffed coffee table in the living room. 
 
 “It's a blessing and a curse,” Ayisha said of Ahmed’s arrest and subsequent fame. “I don’t think he’ll ever be able to live normally again.” 
 
 But they were happy for invitations to visit companies including Google and to move and study in other cities, and for the tweets of support, including one from Hillary Clinton. They recalled how, barely two days earlier, their brother described struggling to hold back tears in front of police officers after his arrest. 
 
 The homemade digital clock that led to Ahmed Mohamed's arrest (Irving Police Department) ________________ 
 
 Ahmed, after finishing up another interview in the backyard, recalled his emotions as he was handcuffed at Irving MacArthur High School and removed from campus. 
 
 “I was really mad,” Ahmed said as he looked at a much-retweeted photo of himself in handcuffs. “I was like, ‘Why am I here?’” 
 
 A Council on American Islamic Relations representative then hustled Ahmed and his family off to talk to a lawyer. 
 
 After they left, Ahmed’s grandmother, Aisha Musa, lay on a bed in the dining room, resting her feet. She had immigrated from Sudan with the rest of the family years ago. 
 
 She doesn’t speak English or know her exact age, but her granddaughters translated her take on her grandson’s celebrity: “I want my son’s son to grow old and have a good job. I thank God there’s nothing people can say but [that] we are good people.” 
 
 Staff writers Naheed Rajwani, Julie Fancher, Todd Gillman and Robert Wilonsky contributed to this report. 
 
 Update at 10:09 a.m. Wednesday: Former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidiate Hillary Clinton joined the tidal wave of tweets supporting Mohamed Ahmed after his arrest Monday for bringing a homemade digital clock to school. 
 
 "Assumptions and fear don't keep us safe -- they hold us back. Ahmed, stay curious and keep building,” Clinton's tweet read. 
 
 Irving ISD officials and Irving police will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Irving Criminal Justice Center. We will continue to update this story as new developments emerge. 
 
 Update at 9:32 a.m. Wednesday: After the story of Ahmed Mohamed's arrest for bringing a homemade digital clock to school went viral Tuesday, triggering an outpouring of support for him on social media, Ahmed tweeted a thank-you early Wednesday. 
 
 Original story by Avi Selk: 
 
 IRVING — Ahmed Mohamed — who makes his own radios and repairs his own go-kart — hoped to impress his teachers when he brought a homemade clock to MacArthur High on Monday. 
 
 Instead, the school phoned police about Ahmed’s circuit-stuffed pencil case. 
 
 So the 14-year-old missed the student council meeting and took a trip in handcuffs to juvenile detention. His clock now sits in an evidence room. Police say they may yet charge him with making a hoax bomb — though they acknowledge he told everyone who would listen that it’s a clock. 
 
 In the meantime, Ahmed’s been suspended, his father is upset and the Council on American-Islamic Relations is once again eyeing claims of Islamophobia in Irving. 
 
 Box of circuit boards 
 
 A box full of circuit boards sits at the foot of Ahmed’s small bed in central Irving. His door marks the border where the Mohamed family’s cramped but lavishly decorated house begins to look like the back room at RadioShack. 
 
 “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.’” 
 
 He kept the clock inside his school bag in English class, but the teacher complained when the alarm beeped in the middle of a lesson. Ahmed brought his invention up to show her afterward. 
 
 “She was like, it looks like a bomb,” he said. 
 
 “I told her, ‘It doesn’t look like a bomb to me.’” 
 
 The teacher kept the clock. When the principal and a police officer pulled Ahmed out of sixth period, he suspected he wouldn’t get it back. 
 
 They led Ahmed into a room where four other police officers waited. He said an officer he’d never seen before leaned back in his chair and remarked: “Yup. That’s who I thought it was.” 
 
 Ahmed felt suddenly conscious of his brown skin and his name — one of the most common in the Muslim religion. But the police kept him busy with questions. 
 
 The bell rang at least twice, he said, while the officers searched his belongings and questioned his intentions. The principal threatened to expel him if he didn’t make a written statement, he said. 
 
 “They were like, ‘So you tried to make a bomb?’” Ahmed said. 
 
 “I told them no, I was trying to make a clock.” 
 
 “He said, ‘It looks like a movie bomb to me.’” 
 
 Police skepticism 
 
 Ahmed never claimed his device was anything but a clock, said police spokesman James McLellan. And police have no reason to think it was dangerous. But officers still didn’t believe Ahmed was giving them the whole story. 
 
 I expect they will have more to say tomorrow, but Ahmed's sister asked me to share this photo. A NASA shirt! pic.twitter.com/nR4gt992gB — Anil Dash (@anildash) September 16, 2015 
 
 “We have no information that he claimed it was a bomb,” McLellan said. “He kept maintaining it was a clock, but there was no broader explanation.” 
 
 Asked what broader explanation the boy could have given, the spokesman explained: 
 
 “It could reasonably be mistaken as a device if left in a bathroom or under a car. The concern was, what was this thing built for? Do we take him into custody?” 
 
 Police led Ahmed out of MacArthur about 3 p.m., his hands cuffed behind him and an officer on each arm. A few students gaped in the halls. He remembers the shocked expression of his student counselor — the one “who knows I’m a good boy.” 
 
 Ahmed was spared the inside of a cell. The police sent him out of the juvenile detention center to meet his parents shortly after taking his fingerprints. 
 
 They’re still investigating the case, and Ahmed hasn’t been back to school. His family said the principal suspended him for three days. 
 
 “They thought, ‘How could someone like this build something like this unless it’s a threat?’” Ahmed said. 
 
 An Irving ISD statement gave no details about the case, citing student privacy laws. But a letter addressed to "Parents/Guardians" and signed by MacArthur Principal Dan Cummings said Irving police had "responded to a suspicious-looking item on campus" and had determined that "the item ... did not pose a threat to your child's safety." 
 
 ‘Invent good things’ 
 
 “He just wants to invent good things for mankind,” said Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who immigrated from Sudan and occasionally returns there to run for president. “But because his name is Mohamed and because of Sept. 11, I think my son got mistreated.” 
 
 Mohamed is familiar with anti-Islamic politics. He once made national headlines for debating a Florida pastor who burned a Quran. 
 
 But he wasn’t paying much attention this summer when Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne became a national celebrity in anti-Islamic circles, fueling rumors in speeches that the religious minority was plotting to usurp American laws. 
 
 However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations took note. 
 
 “This all raises a red flag for us: how Irving’s government entities are operating in the current climate,” said Alia Salem, who directs the council’s North Texas chapter and has spoken to lawyers about Ahmed’s arrest. 
 
 “We’re still investigating,” she said, “but it seems pretty egregious.” 
 
 Meanwhile, Ahmed is sitting home in his bedroom, tinkering with old gears and electrical converters, pronouncing words like “ethnicity” for what sounds like the first time. 
 
 He’s vowed never to take an invention to school again. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption 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 sharply criticised, and the boy has received an outpouring of support including an invitation to the White House. 
 
 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. 
 
 Image copyright Anil Dash Image caption Police said Ahmed Mohammed was arrested for bringing a "hoax bomb" to school 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Irving Police Department provided this photo of the homemade clock 
 
 Under the hashtag "#IstandwithAhmed," thousands of Twitter users praised the boy's initiative and questioned why he was detained including Nasa scientists, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg 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 Council on American-Islamic Relations 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". 
 
 Image copyright Twitter 
 
 Image copyright Facebook 
 
 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". ||||| A high school freshman was detained by police after a teacher mistook his latest invention for a bomb. The Dallas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations believe the student was targeted because of his religious and racial identity. WFAA-TV 
 
 Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was detained after police said a suspicious device was found inside his pencil box at MacArthur High School. (Photo: WFAA) 
 
 IRVING, Texas — A Texas high school student at the center of a tech storm after authorities mistook his clock invention for a bomb got a reprieve from the highest level Wednesday. President Obama invited him to the White House. 
 
 "Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House?," @POTUS tweeted. "We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great." 
 
 Officials at MacArthur High School in Irving suspended freshman Ahmed Mohamed, 14, and called police Monday after determining that his invention looked like a bomb. Irving police handcuffed, questioned and detained Ahmed, then let him go. 
 
 Police Chief Larry Boyd said Wednesday the wires in a briefcase looked suspicious — and that Ahmed was not immediately "forthcoming" other than to say the device was a clock. He said the incident "evolved as it did as a matter of safety and an abundance of caution" and that no charges will be filed. 
 
 Ahmed, who has won awards for his inventions, said he created the clock over the weekend and brought it to school to show an engineering teacher. Ahmed's case created a storm of support on social media, with #IStandWithAhmed trending on Twitter. Hillary Clinton tweeted support, and technology and engineering giants also chimed in. 
 
 Ahmed Mohamed, 14, shows the device that raised suspicions at MacArthur High School. (Photo: WFAA) 
 
 "Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest," Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook page. "The future belongs to people like Ahmed. 
 
 "Ahmed, if you ever want to come by Facebook, I'd love to meet you. Keep building." 
 
 The Google Science Fair tweeted that it was "saving a seat" for Ahmed at this weekend's event. NASA geologist Fred Calef tweeted: "Anytime you wanna see Mars rovers Ahmed, let me know. #IStandWithAhmed." 
 
 The travel website CheapAir.com said it was offering Ahmed a free flight to visit the "NASA center of his choice." 
 
 The White House invited Ahmed to Astronomy Night at the White House next month, an event that connects students with government scientists and NASA astronauts. 
 
 "The fact is that America's best teachers in our schools, in our best schools at least, nurture the intellectual curiosity of all of our students," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. "In this instance, it's clear that at least some of Ahmed's teachers failed him." 
 
 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. — President Obama (@POTUS) September 16, 2015 
 
 According to Irving police, Ahmed's case contained a digital clock that the student had taken apart and rearranged. Police said the student had the briefcase in his English class, where he plugged it into an electrical outlet and it started to make noise. 
 
 Ahmed said his English teacher confiscated his case. A few hours later, the student said the school's principal and resource officer pulled him out of class. Police confiscated the case along with Ahmed's tablet computer. 
 
 The Dallas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Ahmed was targeted because of his religious and racial identity. 
 
 "I think this wouldn't even be a question if his name wasn't Ahmed Mohamed," said Alia Salem, executive director of CAIR's North Texas chapter. "He is an excited kid who is very bright and wants to share it with his teachers." 
 
 Ahmed said the principal suspended him for three days. The school district declined to discuss details of the case, citing student privacy. But it defended the teacher who voiced concern. 
 
 "We always ask our students and staff to immediately report if they observe any suspicious items and/or suspicious behavior," the district said in a statement, adding: "We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students and keep our school community as safe as possible." 
 
 Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne expressed support for the school and police. 
 
 "Hopefully, we can all learn from this week's events and the student, who has obvious gifts, will not feel at all discouraged from pursuing his talent in electronics and engineering," Van Duyne said. 
 
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– Ahmed Mohamed says it took him only 20 minutes to build the homemade clock: he wired a circuit board and power supply to a digital display and stuffed the device into a pencil case before bed on Sunday. The next day, the 14-year-old freshman at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas—a member of his middle school robotics club who makes radios and repairs his own go-kart—showed his creation to his engineering teacher, hoping to impress him, per the Dallas Morning News. "He was like, 'That's really nice,'" but said not to show the clock to other teachers, Ahmed says. When it beeped during another lesson, however, Ahmed revealed his invention to a teacher, who told him it looked like a bomb. Soon, Ahmed tells NBC Dallas police officers arrived, questioned him, then cuffed him and led him to police headquarters for fingerprints, mugshots, and an interrogation. Officers, who took the clock and Ahmed's tablet, tell USA Today Ahmed was being "passive aggressive" during questioning, and though he maintained the device was a clock, couldn't provide a "reasonable answer" for why he had it. "I brought something to school that wasn't a threat to anyone. I didn't do anything wrong," Ahmed says, adding he was denied a phone call to his father and his surname was repeatedly mentioned by officers. "I think this wouldn't even be a question if his name wasn't Ahmed Mohamed," says a rep for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is investigating, per the BBC. "He just wants to invent good things for mankind," Ahmed's father adds. "But because his name is Mohamed and because of Sept. 11, I think my son got mistreated." Ahmed was released to his parents and suspended from school for three days. Police say they may still press charges of making a hoax bomb.