President Barack Obama on Wednesday invited Ahmed Mohamed — the 14-year-old from Irving, Texas, who was arrested after bringing a homemade clock that "looked like a bomb" to school — to bring the clock to the White House.
Obama tweeted from his account on Wednesday:
—President Obama (@POTUS) September 16, 2015
Boyd also said "the reaction would have been the same regardless" of the student's skin color or religion, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Mohamed, whose hobby is to build electronics, constructed the clock, which consisted of a circuit board and a power supply wired to a digital display. He brought it to school to show his teachers.
After the alarm went off in English class, Mohamed showed it to his teacher, who told him it looked like a bomb. He told her it was a clock, but she kept it, and he was taken out of class by the school's principal and a police officer.
—Prajwol/Ru (@OfficalPrajwol) September 16, 2015
Mohamed told the Morning News that when he was taken into the room for questioning, he was asked whether he had tried to make a bomb. He said he told them it was just a clock, but police led him out of school in handcuffs and took him to a juvenile-detention center.
The school sent out a letter to parents assuring them the school was taking every measure to keep their children safe, and that they were working closely with police, who established the item "did not pose a threat to your child’s safety."
In a video published on The Dallas Morning News' website, Mohamed explained what happened:
His arrest prompted a flurry of social-media users to show their support for him, tweeting out anecdotes and messages backing him with the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed.
—Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) September 16, 2015
—Amina (@Minaz_13) September 16, 2015
—Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2015
