Obama invites 14-year-old clockmaker to White House
The Texas teen who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school may have to make an appointment to go to the White House.
On Wednesday afternoon, President Barack Obama tweeted an invitation to Ahmed Mohamed to bring his clock to the White House.
"Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House?” Obama tweeted from his personal account. “We should inspire more kids like to you like science. It's what makes America great."
Mohamed, a ninth-grader at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas was arrested on Monday after his teachers reported him to the police for making a clock that they said resembled a bomb.
Mohamed was taken into custody in handcuffs. He had his fingerprints and mug shot taken.
Earlier Wednesday, at a press conference, police said Mohamed did nothing wrong and closed the case against him.
Police provided local media with an image of the clock that was fit inside a pencil box as, what police said, was proof of the cause of concern.
Ahmed Mohamed wanted to impress his teachers with his clock when he took it to MacArthur High School Monday.
Mohamed showed the case of wires, a circuit board and digital display to his engineering teacher Monday morning, The Dallas Morning News reported.
"He was like, 'That's really nice. I would advise you not to show any other teachers," Mohamed said.
Mohamed listened, keeping the clock in his bag, until the alarm beeped in English class. He said he showed his teacher the invention later, and she said it looked like a bomb and kept the clock.
Later in the day, the principal and a police officer removed Mohamed from class. He was questioned and his belongings were searched. Mohamed claims the principal threatened to expel him if he didn't make a written statement, The Dallas Morning News reported.
About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
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