No charges for Muslim boy whose clock was mistaken for bomb

Irving MacArthur High School student Ahmed Mohamed, 14, poses for a photo at his home in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
Irving MacArthur High School student Ahmed Mohamed, 14, poses for a photo at his home in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.

IRVING, Texas — Police detained a 14-year-old Muslim boy in North Texas after a high school teacher decided that a homemade clock he brought to class could be a bomb.

Ahmed Mohamed took the clock to MacArthur High in Irving on Monday.

But one teacher raised concerns that it looked like a bomb, prompting the school principal and several police officers to question him, search his belongings and march him from the school in handcuffs.

Police don't believe the device is dangerous but say it could be mistaken for a fake explosive.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is investigating, saying the incident is typical of the negative attitudes toward Muslims in Irving.

Irving police Chief Larry Boyd said during a news conference Wednesday that Ahmed will not be charged with possessing a hoax bomb because there's no evidence that he meant to cause any harm.

Boyd said the clock that Ahmed built looked "suspicious in nature."

Ahmed's family said high school administrators Monday suspended the teenager for three days.

School district spokesman Lesley Weaver said officials were concerned with student safety and not the boy's Muslim faith.

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