Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old Muslim student from Irving, Texas, was proud of the clock (pictured above) he built to bring to class. But instead of being praised by his teachers, he was handcuffed because they suspected it was a bomb to blow up the place.
Now, some of the top leaders in the U.S. Are coming forward on social media to show their support, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Mark Zuckerberg. #IStandWithAdhmed, meanwhile, is a top trending hashtag on Twitter as of Wednesday afternoon.
“They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb,” the freshman later said to WFAA.
“She was like, it looks like a bomb,” he told the Dallas News about the principal’s decision. He added, “It doesn’t look like a bomb to me.”
Here’s a round-up of just some of those reactions.
Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, took to his social media site to add his two cents.
You’ve probably seen the story about Ahmed, the 14 year old student in Texas who built a clock and was arrested when he took it to school.
Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmed.
Ahmed, if you ever want to come by Facebook, I’d love to meet you. Keep building.Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Hillary Clinton, a top contender for the Democratic nomination for president tweeted about the incident.
Assumptions and fear don't keep us safe—they hold us back. Ahmed, stay curious and keep building. Https://t.co/ywrlHUw3g1
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2015
President Barack Obama also tweeted about the incident, offering Ahmed an invitation to the White House:
Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great.
— President Obama (@POTUS44) September 16, 2015
Others, too, took to the Internet to show their support:
Hey Ahmed, want to visit our #science lab? We are always looking for smart minds like yours. #IStandWithAhmedpic.twitter.com/Ylbex7WD5H
— 3M (@3M) September 16, 2015
Unbelievable. Any way to get in touch with this kid? We’ve some dangerous-looking electronics we’d like to give him. Http://t.co/L5L7q9l29B
— Raspberry Pi (@Raspberry_Pi) September 16, 2015
Hey Ahmed Mohamed nice clock! You've got fans around the world applauding your creativity. Please come to @inventables and take a tour.
— Zach Kaplan 🧢 (@zkaplan) September 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/BUCKVBVRNES/status/644144433571753985
I expect they will have more to say tomorrow, but Ahmed's sister asked me to share this photo. A NASA shirt! Pic.twitter.com/nR4gt992gB
— anildash.com (@anildash) September 16, 2015