[rdtsc]

I remember the incident in the news.

Yeah, I could see if he was 8, taking an electronic component, stripping all the insides and moving it into new box and plugging it in sounds very plausible. But doing it 14, and then using what looks like a suitcase, where more than one adult thought it was a bomb, makes his story that it's just a "clock" a bit hard to believe.

Moreover, the first teacher he showed it to, urged him to keep the devices in his backpack and not take it out [1]. But he didn't, so that indicates he wanted really hard to get a reaction, and he set the alarm off in another class. Another strike against their story is the speed with which they demanded $15m from the school district.

[1] His engineering teacher, upon seeing the clock said, "That's really nice", but advised him to keep the device in his backpack for the rest of the school day.

[KennyBlanken]

Not only was he told not to take it out of his backpack, he whipped it out in English class, plugged it into the wall, set the time, and then caused the alarm to go off. he was purposefully seeking attention.

His family filed three lawsuits against various parties, all dismissed, two with prejudice, and they were ordered to pay legal costs in two of the three cases.

His father was an eccentric type who had twice tried to run for president of Sudan.

Sure seems like an intentional ploy to get a reaction from staff that could be labeled Islamophobia, though I would blame the father more than the kid.

[benfortuna]

>where more than one adult thought it was a bomb

Clarification: more than one American adult, where collectively some states/localities are more likely to jump at shadows than others..

[rdtsc]

Did the first teacher who asked him to just keep the device in his backpack "jump at shadows"? He knew what it looked like and was trying to help his student stay out of trouble. He didn't report him. Ok, so that's one "crazy" adult. The kid didn't listen.

Another teacher thought the same thing and asked him to put it away, and the kid didn't listen, again, and proceeds to set the alarm on the device. Only then they called the police. I guess, I don't see how brining this kind of a device, looking like a typical movie bomb, to a school in LA, NY (I don't know? think of the least "jumpy-at-shodows" area of the country) could have ended up any better without the police involvement. Heck, I am surprised the first teacher didn't report him and they didn't immediately evacuate the building.

[amiga386]

Indeed. Some states are brimming with absolute morons, especially in positions of power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic

These idiots run your country.

[KingMob]

Ehh. I'm sure any number of equally awkward HN commenters at 14 might have done the same, and if they weren't muslim, gotten the benefit of the doubt instead of being hauled off to the police dept.

[rdtsc]

> if they weren't muslim, gotten the benefit of the doubt instead of being hauled off to the police dept.

I don't see what that had so to with him being muslim? I don't see how bringing a most prototypical looking bomb-like device and not listening at least twice to the teacher put it away, then proceeding to set off the alarm on it, could have ended without the police involvement. If anything, the first teacher showed quite a bit of restraint and compassion, trying not to get the kid in trouble. So did the second teacher, up until the point the kid started to disobey and proceeded to set the alarm on it. Sure we can make fun of Texas being Islamophobic or backwards, I don't see how this would have played any better in California, or NY, for instance.