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After attorneys for the family of Ahmed Mohamed said Wednesday that they were considering legal options to retrieve the teen's homemade clock, police in Irving, Texas, responded it was available to be picked up during business hours — and had been since last week.
The 14-year-old was handcuffed at his North Texas high school and taken into custody on Sept. 8 after bringing the homemade digital clock to class. A teacher contacted authorities after fearing the clock looked like a bomb. Irving police seized the project as part of their investigation into whether Ahemd had tried to use it as a fake bomb to intimidate others.
"The follow-up investigation revealed the device apparently was a homemade experiment, and there is no evidence to support the perception he intended to create alarm," Irving police said in a statement on Sept. 16. "No charges will be filed and the case is considered closed."
Though police had closed their case, conversation was just beginning about whether the arrest was a sign of local bias against Muslims. The Mohamed family received an outpouring of support — including from President Obama and Mark Zuckerberg — as well as intense criticism.
On Wednesday, representatives for the family announced that the high school freshman and his siblings were no longer enrolled in the Irving school district — citing "religious persecution" — and would instead be homeschooled. The announcement also said that the teen's family had retained attorneys "to pursue Ahmed’s legal rights and regain his science project from the Irving Police Department."
The Irving Police Department then released its own statement in an effort to quell reports that the clock was being held hostage.
Police approved the clock to be returned to the family on Sept. 16, the day they announced the case was closed.
"A family representative was notified on Friday, Sept. 18, that the items were ready to be picked-up," police said.
To get his clock back, police said Ahmed's father or another representative could stop by the department any weekday between 6 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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