AHMED MOHAMED CREATES CLOCK, SHOWS TEACHERS, GETS ARRESTED AND TURNED INSTANT CELEBRITY

Yesterday, the story of a 14-year-old hoping to impress his teachers with a homemade clock who ended up in handcuffs instead turned Ahmed Mohamed into an instant celebrity. Police have decided not to file “hoax bomb” charges against Ahmed, but social networks are still seething with outrage over the egregious treatment of a person of color simply wanting to participate in technology.

When Ahmed Mohamed went to his high school in Irving, Texas, Monday, he was so excited. A teenager with dreams of becoming an engineer, he wanted to show his teacher the digital clock he’d made from a pencil case.

This photo provided by the Irving Police Department shows the homemade clock that Ahmed Mohamed brought to school, Wednesday, Sept.16, 2015, in Irving. Police detained the 14-year-old Muslim boy after a teacher at MacArthur High School decided that the homemade clock he brought to class looked like a bomb, according to school and police officials. The family of Ahmed Mohamed said the boy was suspended for three days from the school in the Dallas suburb.

The 14-year-old’s day ended not with praise, but punishment, after the school called police and he was arrested.

Ahmed talked to the media gathered on his front yard and appeared to wear the same NASA T-shirt he had on in a picture taken as he was being arrested. In the image, he looks confused and upset as he’s being led out of school in handcuffs. “They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb,” the freshman later explained to WFAA after authorities released him. Irving Police spokesman Officer James McLellan told the station, “We attempted to question the juvenile about what it was and he would simply only tell us that it was a clock.” The teenager did that because, well, it was a clock, he said. On Wednesday, police announced the teen will not be charged. AT A PRESS conference today, police in Irving, Texas, released this photo of the homemade clock 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed brought to his high school. Though police acknowledge Ahmed never claimed the device was anything but a clock, they arrested him anyway on suspicion of making a “hoax bomb.” Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd said today the department wouldn’t be filing charges.

This photo provided by the Irving Police Department shows the homemade clock that Ahmed Mohamed brought to school, Wednesday, Sept.16, 2015, in Irving. Police detained the 14-year-old Muslim boy after a teacher at MacArthur High School decided that the homemade clock he brought to class looked like a bomb, according to school and police officials. The family of Ahmed Mohamed said the boy was suspended for three days from the school in the Dallas suburb. Social media reacts Outrage over the incident — with many saying the student was profiled because he’s Muslim — spread on social media as #IStandWithAhmed started trending worldwide on Twitter with more than 100,000 tweets Tuesday morning. The school’s Facebook page is roiling with sharp criticism of the way the teen was treated, and the hashtag #engineersforahmed is gaining popularity.

Many criticized the school on Facebook. Its creator, Mark Zuckerberg, posted his support. “Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmed,” Zuckerberg wrote. “Ahmed, if you ever want to come by Facebook, I’d love to meet you. Keep building.”

Carl Bass, CEO of Software firm autodesk, asked Ahmed to make something with them.

Google Tweeted from its science fair account, Google tweeted that it would save Ahmed a seat at the show (and Urged Him to bring his clock)

Myself would have love to extend same ivitation, my offers wont be too nice for you because We’ve got dogs and gadgets and tons of other cool things to tinker with. We’d love to build some digital clocks with you.

Thousand of other tweet from techies have been collected  at the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed