Nerdy 14 year old brings homemade clock to school and is arrested

[SewTexas]

How many school shootings occurred when you were in school? How many terrorist bombings were there?

When I was in school, the Unibomber, Black Panthers, and a few others were very active.

I dont know much about teachers other than what I read these days, but you're comfortable with one making a determination as to whether or not something is explosive. I wish I had that kind of faith in them.

These days, anyone with more than an elementary school education should be able to look at a circuit board, wires, switches, and a display and come to the conclusion that, "There's nothing here that would go BOOM".

Even so, let's say the school took the "safe" route and called the police. At the mention of "bomb", I would expect the police to send their EOD unit. Again, after one quick glance they should recognize it as not a bomb. Everyone, including the police, said he told everyone that would listen that it was a clock. What the heck was the kid arrested for???

The only thing he's guilty of is inadvertently causing a bunch of Chicken Littles to get their panties in a wad.

What exactly does something that goes BOOM look like? Road Runner style sticks of dynamite? Maybe those cool bricks of C4 with wires everywhere?

And gosh, since the kid's telling everyone it wasnt a bomb, we should just stop and let him go back to class with a beeping suitcase that he walked into school with.

oh, come on the thing plugs in for heaven's sake!!! has anyone ever heard of a bomb that needs to be plugged in???


{goes and makes a note, counter that counts up and plug in bomb}

[Beiruty]

Kids at NASA Houston Space center playing with Rockets ( Looks like HAMAS Rockets). Arrest them!!!

[Taypo]

How many school shootings occurred when you were in school? How many terrorist bombings were there?

When I was in school, the Unibomber, Black Panthers, and a few others were very active.

I dont know much about teachers other than what I read these days, but you're comfortable with one making a determination as to whether or not something is explosive. I wish I had that kind of faith in them.

These days, anyone with more than an elementary school education should be able to look at a circuit board, wires, switches, and a display and come to the conclusion that, "There's nothing here that would go BOOM".

Even so, let's say the school took the "safe" route and called the police. At the mention of "bomb", I would expect the police to send their EOD unit. Again, after one quick glance they should recognize it as not a bomb. Everyone, including the police, said he told everyone that would listen that it was a clock. What the heck was the kid arrested for???

The only thing he's guilty of is inadvertently causing a bunch of Chicken Littles to get their panties in a wad.

What exactly does something that goes BOOM look like? Road Runner style sticks of dynamite? Maybe those cool bricks of C4 with wires everywhere?

And gosh, since the kid's telling everyone it wasnt a bomb, we should just stop and let him go back to class with a beeping suitcase that he walked into school with.

oh, come on the thing plugs in for heaven's sake!!! has anyone ever heard of a bomb that needs to be plugged in???


{goes and makes a note, counter that counts up and plug in bomb}

So that 9v connector in the bottom right corner is just for show, I guess?

[JALLEN]

I don't think you get very far trying to analyze the circuit from this rather poor picture, even if you know what you are doing. If you don't, it is hopeless.

There is a 9 v battery connector, as well as a 110VAC plug which might drive the transformer in the foreground. I'd guess it was not a particularly efficient circuit, probably cobb'd together with what was on hand rather than how it could be done the best.

That doesn't excuse the silly over reaction of the school staff, or the police.

I saw in the Fox News scroll just now the kid is still suspended.

Come on, man!

[SewTexas]

How many school shootings occurred when you were in school? How many terrorist bombings were there?

When I was in school, the Unibomber, Black Panthers, and a few others were very active.

I dont know much about teachers other than what I read these days, but you're comfortable with one making a determination as to whether or not something is explosive. I wish I had that kind of faith in them.

These days, anyone with more than an elementary school education should be able to look at a circuit board, wires, switches, and a display and come to the conclusion that, "There's nothing here that would go BOOM".

Even so, let's say the school took the "safe" route and called the police. At the mention of "bomb", I would expect the police to send their EOD unit. Again, after one quick glance they should recognize it as not a bomb. Everyone, including the police, said he told everyone that would listen that it was a clock. What the heck was the kid arrested for???

The only thing he's guilty of is inadvertently causing a bunch of Chicken Littles to get their panties in a wad.

What exactly does something that goes BOOM look like? Road Runner style sticks of dynamite? Maybe those cool bricks of C4 with wires everywhere?

And gosh, since the kid's telling everyone it wasnt a bomb, we should just stop and let him go back to class with a beeping suitcase that he walked into school with.

oh, come on the thing plugs in for heaven's sake!!! has anyone ever heard of a bomb that needs to be plugged in???


{goes and makes a note, counter that counts up and plug in bomb}

So that 9v connector in the bottom right corner is just for show, I guess?

I looked at the picture and read more than one article that stated that he plugged it in for his teacher.

[RPBrown]

I am going to get flamed here but what you guys are saying you did was a different time and different world. When I was in school I kept a rifle or shotgun in a rack in my truck. Do that now and you have those silver bracelets. Not saying it's right but just saying.
After seeing the device on the news last night, I can see where it could be thought of as a bomb. Hard lockable case and all. You see bomb squads destroy these all the time so no I do t think the school or police did wrong. And I don't thi k race was a factor. Look at Mcfay

[rbwhatever1]

I am going to get flamed here but what you guys are saying you did was a different time and different world. When I was in school I kept a rifle or shotgun in a rack in my truck. Do that now and you have those silver bracelets. Not saying it's right but just saying.
After seeing the device on the news last night, I can see where it could be thought of as a bomb. Hard lockable case and all. You see bomb squads destroy these all the time so no I do t think the school or police did wrong. And I don't thi k race was a factor. Look at Mcfay

I agree. I too had a gun rack in my truck full of guns. These United States have gone insane on a massive scale long ago never to return without a fight. If one thinks this is crazy wait until will lose a few schools. I know, we are all Americans and we all love this country, each other, and nobody here wishes anybody ill will. Everybody is normal. We should all just relax, take a deep breath, keep our heads and stop looking for the boogiemen. It will all be fine. Peace will soon break out across the planet.

Off to the bulk ammo websites I go...

Happy Thursday Armed Texans!

[Beiruty]

It is not too late, I would say, Oh Ahmad, next time, tinker with building a Robot. but not an iRobot.

[Excaliber]

Kids get handcuffed and arrested these days for drawing a picture of a gun. Parents get arrested because their four-year-old drew a gun. Kids get suspended for pointing a finger like a gun. For kissing ae girl. It shouldn't be surprising that this happened to this youngster. It's a nationwide epidemic of educational idiocy, panic and irrational fear.

I have to agree that this was not well handled.

I don't fault the teacher for calling police for an unusual black case with elaborate piece of cobbled together electronics inside. NON EOD folks shouldn't take apart things they think might be bombs to see if they are or not, and the teacher was smart if he didn't (although he may not have been smart and done so anyway - press reports haven't said).

I don't fault the police for thinking it could be a bomb, but that's where I think this matter went south.

If it was believed to be a possible explosive device, the procedure for such things is to leave it in place and call the bomb squad to figure out if it is or not. They should have followed procedure. Since they didn't and patrol officers aren't usually bold about handling things they think could be bombs, it is reasonable to conclude that they quickly determined it did not contain an explosive component.

From the best I can make of news reports, the police interviewed the kid who told them it was a clock he had made and wanted to show his teacher. The police had no clue what they were looking at in terms of electronics. I wouldn't either. The smart next steps would have been to consult the bomb squad to determine if it was designed to be an explosive device trigger (e.g. was made in accordance with bomb trigger plans available from terrorist sources) and talk to the DA about what they did and didn't have in terms of a valid charge. Instead they jumped right to charging kid with bringing a hoax bomb to school. That's a pretty big stretch as they are no doubt now aware after making themselves look incompetent in the national press.

When all is said and done, the kid made out pretty well from all this. After what was an initially confusing and frightening experience during the arrest, the incident brought him national fame and he'll be going to the White House and Facebook headquarters. He'll probably also get scholarship offers to MIT and some of the other best tech schools in the country.

In my book, this was not one of those cases one would use in the academy to teach recruits how things should be done.

[Pawpaw]

If anyone (teachers or police) truly thought they might have a bomb, wouldn't the required procedure include evacuating the school?

I'm sorry if I missed it, but I haven't seen any report the school was evacuated.

To me, this alone tells me it's bull.

[philip964]

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2 ... yed-fusion

A 14 year old caucasian kid built a nuclear reactor in his basement. Is a hero and Department of Homeland Security helps him.
A 14 year old Muslim kid builds a clock and is arrested.

This is the reaction from the Left. Remember Obama has invited him to the White House, but not yet as I am aware, three of his employees who stopped the terrorist attack in France.

The Tea Party News Network for some strange reason has decided that this was "a trial run" and that his arrest was justified. I'm still trying to understand a group who believes in constitutional rights thinking this way, but it certainly fits with the logic of the Left that the Tea Party is all a bunch of racists.

All I know this whole thing just looks bad for people who believe in common sense.

[Middle Age Russ]

Common Sense requires risk/reward analysis based on knowledge, experience, facts and reasoning. Our current education system (as well as most other public institutions) has supplanted Common Sense with Zero Tolerance. Zero Tolerance seeks to govern real-time actions/responses in an entirely risk averse manner based on specific variables (which may or may not be present in real time) and predicted outcomes as assessed by people far removed from the actual events. Zero Tolerance has been employed for quite a while, and I fear that the ability to use Common Sense in general is waning -- to the detriment of society as a whole.

[JALLEN]

One of the detriments of enforcing the mantra that "all men are created equal" in the workplace, to the end that employees must be chosen to reflect whatever notions of demographics may be, is that you seldom end up with the most capable, the most competent, caring, motivated.

Given how our educational industry is structured, it is not surprising that these incidents occur, government jobs, heavily unionized, political correctness mandated, and Equal Opportunity rigidly enforced, among other factors. Thinking for oneself is rigidly discouraged, which right there courts disaster.

"All men are created equal" is a legal fiction, a presumption of how we want people treated before the courts, and other government officers, not unlike "every man is presumed to know the law," or "the land of the free and the home of the brave," more akin to statements of goals and aspirations rather than a reflection of actual reality. Every woman who has had more than one boyfriend knows it isn't true.

When we insist that it is really true and impose it in other situations, some peculiar, often hilarious and occasionally disastrous results ensue.

[KD5NRH]

If anyone (teachers or police) truly thought they might have a bomb, wouldn't the required procedure include evacuating the school?

I'm sorry if I missed it, but I haven't seen any report the school was evacuated.

To me, this alone tells me it's bull.

More to the point, every report I've seen said the teacher kept the device at her desk and conferred with the principal "later in the day." IOW, if it had been a bomb with any more power than a firecracker, none of the actions of the teacher, principal or police would have protected any of the students.

[KD5NRH]

Kids at NASA Houston Space center playing with Rockets ( Looks like HAMAS Rockets). Arrest them!!!

Wish I still had some pics of the half scale AMRAAM I built. That one would really set some folks off. Looked great on the pad and through a couple underpowered test launches, but I never got to see what it would have really been capable of with the intended E engines.