Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested in Texas for taking a homemade clock to class, is seeking $15 million from the City of Irving and MacArthur highschool.
The teenager was held by police and suspended from his school because his teacher mistook the clock for a bomb.
Ahmed Mohamed’s lawyer said in a letter that the incident, which made global headlines, sparked threats against the boy and left him deeply traumatized.
The 14-year-old and his family have since moved to Qatar to complete his education.
The arrest sparked outrage, sympathy and the trending hashtag #StandWithAhmed.
Ahmed Mohamed’s lawyers are asking for $10 million from the city of Irving and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District, saying that Ahmed Mohamed was “publicly mistreated” and remains scarred.
In addition to the compensation they want an apology, saying that in the aftermath of the arrest, he received threatening emails and feared for his safety, causing “severe psychological trauma”.
The lawyers will file a civil action suit if the school does not comply within 60 days, they said.
“Irving Police officials immediately determined that the clock was harmless. The only reason for the overreaction was that the responsible adults involved irrationally assumed that Ahmed was dangerous because of his race, national origin and religion,” the lawyers wrote in a letter to the City of Irving.
Ahmed Mohamed told reporters at the time it was “very sad” that his teacher thought his clock was a threat.
His arrest was sharply criticized, and he received an outpouring of support including an invitation to the White House.
In October, Ahmed Mohamed met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The boy’s father is a Sudanese immigrant to the US who once stood as a presidential candidate against Omar al-Bashir.
Ahmed Mohamed also met Google co-founder Sergey Brin and officials from Turkey, Sudan and Jordan.
Texas officials defended their decision, saying they were only concerned with the safety of students.
The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community offered him a full scholarship in October.
Ahmed Mohamed’s family announced they would be leaving Texas and moving so he could attend school there.
Texas student Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested in Irving after his teacher mistook his homemade clock for a bomb, will move to Qatar with his family.
The 14-year-old Muslim boy has accepted a scholarship from the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, where he will study.
Ahmed Mohamed met President Barack Obama at the White House on October 19.
After being detained over the clock, Ahmed Mohamed’s case went viral on social media.
Some alleged the boy was unfairly treated because of his name and religious background. Officials in Irving Texas defended their decision, saying they were only concerned with the safety of students.
The Qatar Foundation is providing a full scholarship for his secondary and undergraduate education, according to a news release.
“Our family has been overwhelmed by the many offers of support we have received since the unfortunate incident of Ahmed’s arrest,” the Mohamed family said in the release.
“From the White House to Sudan, to Mecca, we have been welcomed by a variety of individuals, businesses and educational institutions.”
According to his family, Ahmed Mohamed will be enrolled in the Qatar Foundation’s “Young Innovators” program and his whole family will relocate with him to Qatar.
“Qatar was a cool place to visit. I loved the city of Doha because it’s so modern. I saw so many amazing schools there, many of them campuses of famous American universities,” said Ahmed Mohamed in the news release.
“The teachers were great. I think I will learn a lot and have fun too.”
Ahmed Mohamed withdrew from his Texas school shortly after the clock incident.
The boy was arrested after his teacher mistook his clock for a bomb, sparking outrage and the trending hashtag #StandWithAhmed.
In addition to being invited to the White House, Ahmed Mohamed received an outpouring of support from scientists, politicians and celebrities.
Ahmed Mohamed, the Muslim teenager arrested after a homemade clock he brought to his school was mistaken for a bomb, has quit MacArthur High School in Texas, his family says.
The boy’s father, Mohamed El-Hassan Mohamed, said he had pulled all his children from schools in the area.
According to Mohamed El-Hassan Mohamed, the arrest had a harmful effect on his 14-year-old boy.
Ahmed Mohamed’s arrest has been sharply criticized and the charges against him were quickly dropped.
The boy was arrested at MacArthur High School in Irving, after officials thought the device he brought to school was a “hoax bomb”.
“Ahmed said: <<I don’t want to go to MacArthur>>,” Mohamed El-Hassan Mohamed told The Dallas Morning News on September 22.
“These kids aren’t going to be happy there.”
Ahmed Mohamed has received numerous enrolment offers from schools, his father said, adding that he wanted to give him a break before making a decision.
The entire family is set to fly to New York on September 23 where United Nations dignitaries want to meet Ahmed Mohamed.
After that, Mohamed El-Hassan Mohamed hopes to take his son on a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
“I ask Allah to bless this time. After that, we’ll see,” the father said.
When they return, they plan to visit the White House to meet President Barack Obama, he said.
Ahmed Mohamed announced his plans to transfer schools at a news conference last week.
He told reporters it was “very sad” that his teacher thought his clock was a threat.
Ahmed Mohamed’s arrest has been sharply criticized, and the boy has received an outpouring of support including an invitation to the White House.
Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old Muslim student arrested in Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school, has continued to receive an outpouring of support from scientists, politicians and celebrities.
The Irving MacArthur High School student has been invited to visit Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by a professor who called him an “ideal student”.
Ahmed Mohamed also told ABC News he will accept an invitation to the White House.
The student’s arrest was sharply criticized and the charges against him were dropped.
Ahmed Mohamed hopes to one day attend MIT, one of the top engineering universities in the US. He told ABC he was more excited about the MIT tour than the White House invitation.
Some of the biggest names in the world of science have welcomed Ahmed Mohamed with open arms.
NASA, Google Science Fair, Space Camp USA and astronaut Chris Hadfield were among those applauding Ahmed Mohamed for his ingenuity.
Officials at MacArthur High School alerted police because they thought the device Ahmed Mohamed built was a “hoax bomb”.
In a news conference on September 16, Ahmed Mohamed said he plans to transfer schools.
He told reporters it was “very sad” that his teacher thought his clock was a threat.
“I built a clock to impress my teacher but when I showed it to her she thought it was a threat to her. I’m very sad that she got the wrong impression of it.”
Ahmed Mohamed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who is originally from Sudan, praised his son’s ingenuity, saying he fixes everything around the house, including his father’s phone and computer.
“He’s a very smart, brilliant boy and he said he just wanted to show himself to the world,” he said.
The police have rejected the claim made by Ahmed Mohamed’s family that he was detained because of his name.
“We have always had an outstanding relationship with the Muslim community,” Irving Police Department chief Larry Boyd said on September 16.
“Incidents like this present challenges. We want to learn how we can move forward and turn this into a positive,” Larry Boyd added.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it is investigating the incident.
Under the hashtag #IstandwithAhmed, thousands of Twitter users – including NASA scientists, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and President Barack Obama – praised Ahmed Mohamed’s initiative and questioned why he was detained.
Police have decided not to charge Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old Muslim student who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school.
Officials at MacArthur High School in Irving alerted police because they thought the device was a “hoax bomb”.
Ahmed Mohamed’s arrest has been sharply criticized, and the boy has received an outpouring of support including an invitation to the White House.
The teenager’s family believes he was detained because of his name.
“We have always had an outstanding relationship with the Muslim community,” Irving Police Department chief Larry Boyd said on September 16.
“Incidents like this present challenges. We want to learn how we can move forward and turn this into a positive.”
Ahmed Mohamed was placed in handcuffs and fingerprinted. He was released after it was determined there was no threat.
Under the hashtag “#IstandwithAhmed,” thousands of Twitter users praised the boy’s initiative and questioned why he was detained including NASA scientists, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and President Barack Obama.
“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,” Barack Obama wrote on Twitter.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it is investigating the incident.
Ahmed Mohamed said that he had made a clock at home and brought it to school to show his engineering teacher.
He said his engineering teacher had congratulated him but advised him “not to show any other teachers”.
Ahmed Mohamed said another teacher became aware of it when the device beeped during the lesson.
“She was like – it looks like a bomb,” he said.
The homemade clock consisted of a circuit board with wires leading to a digital display.
Later in the day Ahmed Mohamed was pulled out of class, interviewed by the head teachers and four police officers, and put into juvenile detention.
The school issued a statement saying it “always ask our students and staff to immediately report if they observe any suspicious items”.
A 14-year-old Texas student was arrested after a homemade clock he wanted to show his school teachers was mistaken for a bomb.
Ahmed Mohamed told media that he had made a clock at home and brought it into MacArthur High School in Irving to show his engineering teacher.
Another teacher saw it and, concerned it looked like a bomb, alerted school authorities who called the police.
Ahmed Mohamed’s father fears the incident happened because of his son’s Muslim background.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it is investigating the incident.
There was a strong reaction to the story on social media.
Ahmed Mohamed told the Dallas Morning News that he loved engineering and wanted to show his teachers what he could do.
The boy said his engineering teacher had congratulated him but advised him “not to show any other teachers”.
Ahmed Mohamed said another teacher became aware of it when the device beeped during the lesson.
“She was like – it looks like a bomb,” the teenager said.
The homemade clock consisted of a circuit board with wires leading to a digital display.
Later in the day Ahmed Mohamed was pulled out of class and interviewed by the school’s principle and four police officers.
Police spokesman James McLellan said that, throughout the interview, Ahmed Mohamed had maintained that he built only a clock.
The school has not commented on the case, but issued a statement saying it “always ask our students and staff to immediately report if they observe any suspicious items”.
The boy’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who is originally from Sudan, said his son had been mistreated because of his name “and because of September 11”.
Alia Salem of the Council on American-Islamic Relations agreed: “This wouldn’t even be a question if his name wasn’t Ahmed Mohamed. He is an excited kid who is very bright and wants to share it with his teachers.”
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