Incident in which a child was arrested for bringing clock parts to school
The arrest of a Muslim teenager for bringing a homemade clock to school sparked a national debate about racial profiling and Islamophobia in U.S. schools.
Key Facts
- Age of Ahmed Mohamed
- 14 years old
- School
- MacArthur High School, Irving, Texas
- Detention duration
- Questioned for 1.5 hours before release to parents
- Civil lawsuit demand
- $15 million in compensation from city and school district
- Lawsuit outcome
- Dismissed in May 2017 for lack of evidence
- Family relocation
- Moved to Qatar on a scholarship from Qatar Foundation
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old Muslim student of Sudanese descent, assembled a digital clock in a pencil container and brought it to MacArthur High School to show his teachers. His English teacher mistook the device for a bomb and reported him to the principal, who summoned police.
On September 14, 2015, Irving police arrested Mohamed, handcuffing him and transporting him to a juvenile detention facility where he was fingerprinted and photographed. He was held for approximately ninety minutes of questioning before being released to his parents. He was subsequently suspended from school, though no criminal charges were filed.
The incident went viral on social media and prompted widespread accusations of racial and religious profiling. President Obama, politicians, and technology executives publicly supported Mohamed. His family filed a $15 million civil rights lawsuit, later dismissed, and defamation suits against conservative commentators, also dismissed. The family ultimately relocated to Qatar in late 2015.