Student Arrested for Clock 'Bomb'

[mirth]

Doesn't seem smart to steal a gun from someone that carries an arsenal in their personal vehicle. Then again I guess we're not talking about MENSA members here.

Not at my high school.

[Bison]

Back in our day there weren't internet sites that described the construction of lethal weaponry in minutes simply involving an egg timer, a pressure cooker, and nails either and not really the point.  The point is that a. the school and teachers should have known information about the kid, but most likely didn't.  Because you cannot "profile", aka knowing someone's interests, background, and tendencies both positive and negative or be outed as racist, insensitive, intrusive, or some other such nonsense, b. none of us actually knows shit about what happened.  Over the years I've come to be skeptical of media reports particularly when they quickly escalate into political talking points, c. if the kid was questioned without a lawyer present there are serious issues with that fact, d. the kid needs to be encouraged to pursuit his interests further, which brings me back to point a. 

[mirth]

School's do 'profile' kids all the time. They keep files, notes, etc. I've worked in multiple public schools over several years, I know well what kind of records they keep on students. If this kid was perceived as a trouble maker or any kind of threat, school officials would know.

I'll go back to my earlier point, if anyone, school officials or law enforcement, though that kid had really made a bomb then they seriously screwed up by keeping the 'bomb' in the school for hours without evacuating the students.

It seems far more likely that this was another example of the overreaction all too common in our society today where every pointed finger is a threat, every science project is a bomb.

[Swatter]

Clearly, no one seriously thought it was a bomb. The teacher confiscated it and held on to it for a few hours before calling the police to question and arrest the kid. No bomb squad, no evacuation of the building.

If they did actually think it was a bomb, then they were grossly negligent.

This.

At the same time, this hysteria has been going on at American schools since Columbine. Its a shame that at these schools nobody is there, or has the ability, to say "this has gone far enough". Some adult needs to grow some balls and possibly bite the bullet and say "Alright, we messed up and this ends now." No call to the police, no arrest, no suspension. Yet, once the ball starts rolling, the bureaucratic inertia is unstoppable.

I also want to say, lets not make this the defining moment of his life. Liberalism in this country wants to equate one's victimhood with identity. Its good he's going to get some awesome opportunities from this, but he might look back 20 years from now and see how many doors were opened for him simply because he was a victim of some idiotic teachers, staff, and zero tolerance school policies.

[bayonetbrant]

[LongBlade]

<chuckle>

[Staggerwing]

If I read the stories correctly, the school and cops didn't think the kid had built a real bomb, but had built a hoax bomb and arrested him for that, as faux bomb threats are illegal. I'm not defending the school officials at all, just trying to clarify something. They are still nincompoops. Also, once the accusation was made I don't doubt that the local LEOs were pretty much legally obligated to play out the arrest scenario. Still, they could have skipped the 'cuffs.

[LongBlade]

WaPo has a timeline of the events: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/16/why-a-ninth-graders-arrest-over-a-home-built-clock-struck-a-chord-across-america/

Looks like the kid made it the day before school to impress his science teacher. The teacher told him not to show other teachers (presumably a case of deja vu).

Later in English class the clock beeped. Teacher demand explanation. Is given clock. Panics.

Keystone Kops ensue.

[mirth]

If I read the stories correctly, the school and cops didn't think the kid had built a real bomb, but had built a hoax bomb and arrested him for that, as faux bomb threats are illegal. I'm not defending the school officials at all, just trying to clarify something. They are still nincompoops. Also, once the accusation was made I don't doubt that the local LEOs were pretty much legally obligated to play out the arrest scenario. Still, they could have skipped the 'cuffs.

That is correct. He was arrested under suspicion of creating a hoax bomb.

[Bison]

It seems far more likely that this was another example of the overreaction all too common in our society today where every pointed finger is a threat, every science project is a bomb.

I'm not going to disagree with this statement, because in general I agree.  There is way to much overreaction, but lets be honest a sandwich or finger gun is not a timing mechanism.  Was it an overreaction?  Yes, but it's an easy judgement to make in hindsight.  I honestly hope that if this kid is electrical or mechanical engineering inclined that he receives encouragement to pursue those avenues of knowledge and abilities.  But the other reality is that schools are under tremendous pressures right now to prevent threats real or imaginary and frankly for some good reason, but that is why you end up with the extremes of banning "gun" gestures or expelling kids for water guns or key chain guns.  In this case, a "bomb".  In many ways I don't envy school administrators who have to navigate the wickets of todays politics and reality.  It's an unenviable position, because of the what if.  What if it weren't a clock.  Then the masses who be questioning why they did nothing when the facts were staring them in the face.  Anyway.  I hope it works out and he continues on with his interests.

[mirth]

Statement given by the Irving Police Chief

[LongBlade]

Suspicious appearance.

It's a clock - no other details forthcoming.

[mirth]

Just to be clear, I don't think this was any kind of "islamophobic" incident, as so many people seem eager to make out to be. I think it was an overreaction to a kid with an electronic device that freaked a few people out. I sympathize with the kid because if I were in high school today I could easily find myself in a similar situation.

And this whole thing about him not being "forthcoming", give me a friggin break. Have these people ever met a teenage boy?

[mirth]

Suspicious appearance.

It's a clock - no other details forthcoming.

Clear the forums!

[bayonetbrant]

Yeah, but let's face it - if I showed up with that sort of clock in my bag, no one gives a shit.  But it's a brown-skinned kid with a 'funny-sounding' name, so he gets hauled into the principal's office.

The worst part of it is that they were laying into him with no parents present.  That's just flat-fucking wrong.