‘I Felt Like I Was A Terrorist’: 14 Year Old Arrested For Bringing Clock To School Speaks Out

Ahmed Mohammad, arrested, handcuffed, and fingerprinted after being interrogated for 85 minutes by police, talks with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.

It certainly wasn’t the first time Ahmed Mohammed has been singled out. The 14-year old student, who is Muslim, says his classmates have called him a “terrorist” because of his race and his religion. It’s not surprising, given that the mayor in his city of  Irving, Texas, is an anti-Sharia fear-monger.

Ahmed made international news Wednesday after he brought a clock he had made to school on Monday. Teachers said it looked like a bomb, despite the fact that it had no explosives, and despite the fact that Ahmed repeatedly told them it was a clock.

As the 14-year old engineer told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes last night, five police officers and his school principal detained Ahmed and interrogated him for an hour and 25 minutes. They refused to allow him to call his parents, which, if it isn’t illegal, should be. Then they handcuffed him in front of his classmates, took him to a juvenile detention center, and fingerprinted him, as they prepared to charge him with making a “hoax bomb.”

“I felt like I was a criminal, I felt like I was a terrorist, I felt like all the names I was called,” Ahmed told Chris Hayes on “All In” last night. “In middle school I was called a terrorist, called a bomb-maker, just because of my race and religion.”

A spokesperson for the school district explained the administration’s actions.

LOOK: ‘It’s What Makes America Great’: Obama Trolls Trump, Invites Arrested Teen Clock Maker To White House

“If something is out of the ordinary, the information should be reported immediately to a school administrator and/or the police so it can be addressed right away,” she told Buzzfeed. “We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students and keep our school community as safe as possible.”

It’s disturbing that a place of learning sees something “out of the ordinary” as something to involve a school administrator and/or the police.

There is good news though.

On Twitter Ahmed has received a ton of support.

President Obama has invited him to the White House. Mark Zuckerberg has invited him to Facebook, and at the end of Ahmed’s MSNBC interview, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) astrophysicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein told Ahmed she thinks he is an “ideal student.” Which is great, considering MIT is Ahmed’s “dream school.” And she offered to take him on a tour of MIT. “You are the kind of student we want at MIT and Harvard.”

Ahmed says people should always feel like others “have your back,” no matter who you are. “Don’t let people change who you are,” he says.

 

EARLIER:

Here’s A Photo Of The Clock That Got a 14 Year Old Boy Arrested For Making A ‘Hoax Bomb’

14 Year Old Brings Homemade Clock To School. Teacher Says It Looks Like A Bomb. Cops Arrest Him.

 

Image: Screenshot via MSNBC