Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old Muslim boy authorities arrested because school officials mistook the homemade clock he brought to school for a bomb, has revealed that he is still suspended from classes even though police have dropped the case against him. He says he will likely transfer to “any other school.”
Ahmed and his family, along with legal counsel and leaders from the Muslim community in Texas, held a press conference outside of the family’s home on Wednesday afternoon, where they thanked Ahmed’s supporters and urged for reform.
“So I guess everyone knows I’m the person who built a clock and got in a lot of trouble for it,” Ahmed said, addressing the crowd of reporters outside of his home.
” I built a clock to impress my teacher I built a clock to impress my teacher, but when I showed it to her she thought it was a threat to her. So it was really sad that she took a wrong impression of it, and I got arrested for it later that day,” he added.
He also told reporters that the school had suspended him for three days — a suspension that hasn’t lifted, and is still in effect until Thursday.
However, he said, “I’m transferring schools so it doesn’t matter.”
While the Mohamed family is still working out the details on what school Ahmed will transfer to, he says he wants it to be “any other school” but MacArthur High.
"I’m the person who built a clock and got in a lot of trouble for it.”-Fourteen-year-old Ahmed Muhamed spoke earlier today about how an invention got him arrested at school. The teenager also said he plans to transfer to a different high school.Learn more: http://to.pbs.org/1JbXTft
Posted by PBS NewsHour on Wednesday, September 16, 2015
An Irving Independent School District representative declined to comment specifically on Ahmed’s suspension without parental consent, citing students’ right to privacy. School district spokeswoman Lesley Weaver instead told Mashable: “Our priority is the safety of ALL students in Irving ISD, including the more than 2,800 students who attend MacArthur High School.”
The district wrote in a statement on its website that, while it could not explain further, the information about the incident currently available publicly is “very unbalanced.”
At the press conference, Ahmed’s father, Mohamed ElHassan Mohamed, expressed his gratitude to the reporters who had been waiting outside for at least six to eight hours, some of them since the day before.
#AhmedMohamed family offers pizza to crowd of waiting media at his home @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/REf5NfqZge
— Ken Kalthoff (@KenKalthoffNBC5) September 16, 2015
He also thanked his son’s supporters on social media, naming President Obama and Hillary Clinton, but urged for change following his son’s arrest.
“What happened to our son is a sign to go forward … this is America. We need to reform,” Mohamed said.
“He’s a very brilliant boy. I’m very proud of him,” he said about Ahmed, adding that his son has fixed everything from his car to his cell phone.
Ahmed was humbled by the outpouring of social media solidarity after his arrest, echoing his prior sentiment that he was shocked that the story gained so much traction.
#AhmedMohamed says he's not upset by lack of apology. Thrilled by social media support. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/cYrboSPCmy
— Ken Kalthoff (@KenKalthoffNBC5) September 16, 2015
When a reporter asked if he would be going to the White House, per the invitation President Obama tweeted, Ahmed, all smiles, responded with a resounding “yes.”
And that probably isn’t the only place he’ll go — with invitations from Twitter, Google and Facebook, Ahmed may have a busy year ahead of him.
-mashable