Ahmed Mohamed was handcuffed after his school called police over the digital clock which ‘looked like a bomb’ to a teacher

Police and school authorities in Irving, Texas are under fire after arresting a 14-year-old boy for bringing a homemade clock into school.

Ahmed Mohamed, an engineering hobbyist, made the timepiece and brought it to school in the hope of impressing teachers and fellow students in his first few weeks at MacArthur High School. But when he showed it to an English teacher after it beeped during her lesson, she told him it looked like a bomb.

Later in the day, the school’s principal and a police officer came to pull him out of class, and again the principal told Ahmed that “it looks like a movie bomb to me”. Throughout, the student says, he told everyone who would listen that the device was a clock, but police still led him out of school at 3pm, according to local reports, “his hands cuffed behind his back and an officer on each arm”.

Prajwol/Ru (@OfficalPrajwol) Ahmed's sister told me to post this. Yes this situation is real for those questioning. pic.twitter.com/Oxd0JxUS6O

A police spokesman told the Dallas Morning News that they didn’t believe Ahmed was building the clock out of pure curiosity. “We have no information that he claimed it was a bomb,” he said. “He kept maintaining it was a clock, but there was no broader explanation.”

When asked what other explanation “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?”

In a letter sent out by Dan Cummings, head of MacArthur High School, the principal told parents that “Irving Police Department responded to a suspicious-looking item on campus yesterday. We are pleased to report that after the police department’s assessment, the item discovered at school did not pose a threat to your child’s safety.”

Cummings recommended parents “talk with your child about the Student Code of Conduct and specifically not bringing items to school that are prohibited. Also, this is a good time to remind your child how important it is to immediately report any suspicious items and/or suspicious behavior they observe to any school employee so we can address it right away. We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students.”

The case comes against the background of accusations of Islamaphobia in Irving, where the town’s mayor, Beth Van Duyne, became something of a national celebrity after she accused Islamic leaders of “bypassing American courts” by offering voluntary Shariah-law mediation to worshippers. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has said Ahmed’s case “raises a red flag for us: how Irving’s government entities are operating in the current climate … We’re still investigating, but it seems pretty egregious.”

The actions of the school and police have also struck a chord with hackers across the world, who view the treatment of Ahmed as emblematic of a clampdown on the freedom to tinker with electronics. The Electronic Frontiers Foundation tweeted that “Making clocks is not a crime”, while Wired Magazine responded by posting their own instructions on How to Make Your Own Homemade Clock That Isn’t a Bomb”.

Anil Dash, a prolific blogger and founder of Think-up, quoted Barack Obama saying “Together, let us unleash the imagination of our people, affirm that we are a Nation of makers, and ensure that the next great technological revolution happens right here in America.” Dash added that “many of us have been moved to offer support to Ahmed and his creativity,” and has started to crowdsource a list of ideas “that can help change the culture of Irving to be more welcoming to innovators of all kinds”.

Anil Dash (@anildash) I used to take circuit boards & electronics to school, even as the only brown kid. Now, my entire job is building a community of makers.

Anil Dash (@anildash) If any of our early geek experiments had gotten the most terrifying response possible from teachers & police, would we have kept doing it?

Ahmed has received a three-day suspension from class. According to the Dallas Morning News, he has vowed never to take an invention to school again.