Autistic SC teen - who plans to be nuclear engineer - detained after notes found at school

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me)



MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) — Horry County Police will dismiss a charge against a 13-year-old student after an examination of two suspicious notebooks revealed they did not pose a threat.

Lt. Raul Denis, spokesman for the Horry County Police Department, says someone found the two notebooks containing disturbing material inside a classroom at Forestbrook Middle School. A school resource officer was alerted of the discovery last Wednesday.

A screen shot from Bloons Tower Defense. In the game, players attempt to prevent balloons (called bloons in-game) from reaching the end of a set course by placing towers along the course…

Police say the journals contained information on “sensitive subjects like weapons and explosives science, maps, blue prints, jobs and stories pertaining to a video game called Balloon Tower Defense 5.” Denis said in a release there was also a reference to a school the student had once attended.

Detectives with the Horry County Police Department interviewed the 13-year-old student and his parents, and thoroughly examined the notebooks. The release says the child was detained under the disturbing schools law until the matter was investigated.

“The investigation and examination of the journals found that the child is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and is highly intelligent, and the journals, which the parents were aware of, are used as a therapeutic/comforting mechanism,” Denis said in a press release. “the child focuses on these subjects because he dreams of being a nuclear engineer.”

Denis said nothing found in the notebooks indicated a threat to the public nor any intent to build a weapon or device. The child’s mother told police he began the journals while in elementary school and understood that they were not allowed to leave the house.

Detectives did not find any evidence that the student had access to materials to attempt to build a device, the release said.

The 13-year-old student was later released to his parents and the charge of disturbing schools will be dismissed.


SOURCE: http://wncn.com/2015/09/17/autistic...ngineer-detained-after-notes-found-at-school/

 

[Ste11aeres]

Well, given the reality of school shootings and stuff, they were right to investigate. They were doubly right to reach the conclusion that they did, about him having no bad intentions.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Budding engineers don't do well in school either: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/16/us/texas-student-ahmed-muslim-clock-bomb/

When I was in school and made a book out of cardboard and butchered paper. The teacher made me read it in front of the whole class. I'm not sure which is more embarrassing.
I'd probably go to jail for copyright infringement these days because I had a Bugs Bunny cartoon and Tom & Jerry cartoon transcription in there.

 

[Ylva]

Well, given the reality of school shootings and stuff, they were right to investigate. They were doubly right to reach the conclusion that they did, about him having no bad intentions.

I think nuking your school would be a new one.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I think nuking your school would be a new one.

It would be. But the article, while not being too explicit about the exact subject matter, said “sensitive subjects like weapons and explosives science". That doesn't sound like the subject matter was limited to stuff directly pertaining to nuclear weapons.
The article also doesn't sound like they did anything horrible to him. However, there's not too much detail in the article, so I don't really know. If there actually are details (not mentioned in the article) in the way he was treated that made it a really traumatic experience for him...well, in that case it is horrible.

Now as for the other kid, who had made a clock...the ridiculous thing is that the police knew right away that it was a clock, not a bomb. Yet they still detained him, still kept questioning him, still searched for other things to charge him with, the school still suspended him, all after realizing it was just a clock.

 

[Ylva]

Now as for the other kid, who had made a clock...the ridiculous thing is that the police knew right away that it was a clock, not a bomb. Yet they still detained him, still kept questioning him, still searched for other things to charge him with, the school still suspended him, all after realizing it was just a clock.

As to that, they never believed it was a bomb. If they did they would have evacuated the school.

 

[Judge]

In my brother's grammar school show-and-tell was sometimes precarious as kids would bring old, but live Japanese explosives. Back then you could find almost anything in the "boondocks".

Spending a few years on the island of Guam only a little more than decade after the war was interesting...even for a little kid.

How times have changed though....

 

[Ste11aeres]

I feel that teachers and school administrators are really good at being paranoid about danger....
Really bad at recognizing it.

 

[Judge]

I feel that teachers and school administrators are really good at being paranoid about danger....
Really bad at recognizing it.

Fear alone makes people do some strange things. It's just that you'd think educators would make a more concerted effort to LEARN about that which scares them. Go figure....

I thought that kid's clock was pretty cool. Hope he goes far in this world with such ideas and drive.

 

[Nitro]

Horry County has a history of school bomb threats and arrests to begin with,so in all actuality the school probably made the right choice to call in their law enforcement. That does not excuse the cowboy actions of the officers who made poor decisions,but I can see their point as they are not technically electronics professionals and did what they did. Profiling? Most likely.Fair? Not really.Reality? Yes.

 

[MEDL86]

As to that, they never believed it was a bomb. If they did they would have evacuated the school.

And that's probably the worst part about that particular story, they knew it wasn't a bomb, yet they still acted like it was by arresting the poor kid and dragging his name through the mud, essentially ensuring that this happens again by reinforcing the irrational fear that exists in our society.

As for the story in this topic, if they had charged the kid with a crime, there would be no real evidence, aside from assumption and fear, to support the arrest, and technically speaking, the fact that they even detained him is bad enough, essentially holding him for a thought crime that never really existed in the first place.

It's just sad how our country has gotten to the point where it's crapping it's pants when something unusual is found, seen, or happens. It makes me embarrassed to be american (seriously).

 

[Judge]

Why can't local law enforcement meet with educators after school for a private presentation of what to look for regarding explosive devices? At least give them a cursory understanding of what might be suspicious-looking...

 

[DC1346]

Well, given the reality of school shootings and stuff, they were right to investigate. They were doubly right to reach the conclusion that they did, about him having no bad intentions.

Agreed ... and if he knew that his notebooks weren't supposed to leave his house, why did he take them to school?

As far as everything else goes, it's easy to point at educators and to say that we're insensitive or that we're fear mongers but be aware that we operate under school and district policy and that we're not making subjective decisions about whether this is allowed while that isn't.

Most of us are NOT trained security experts ... so if it looks like a bomb even though the kid says it's not because here's a secret ... sometimes kids LIE ... school and district policy require that we act. Depending upon the state, if we fail to act and if something were to have happened, guess who's liable? Guess who could lose their jobs and certification? Guess who could be arrested? Guess whose name the press would drag through the mud?

And really ... some of you want police to train educators in how to identify a bomb? REALLY?

Do you realize how many ways there are to disguise explosive ordinance? WE ARE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS! WE ARE NOT SECURITY EXPERTS!

Geez Louise ... it's bad enough that some of you send your kids to school without having taught them basic manners such as how to take turns and how to say please and thank you ... so now we have to teach them basic social skills ...

And then you don't take the time to read with your kids or to drill and practice addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts, so we have to figure out how to remediate instruction that's already chock full of crap like character education because some idiot decided that kids need to feel good about themselves even if they've done absolutely nothing ... so we're graduating spoiled entitled kids who thinks that mediocrity should be rewarded because they each got a figging blue ribbon for their science fair project just because they participated and not because the project was actually any good.

When we call you to express concerns about your child's attitude and behavior, you tell us to deal with it because that's our job. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for the lack of support. And if you're feeling in a particularly vindictive mood, you then demand a meeting with our administrative supervisor so that you can blame US for your child's lack of progress and failing grades ... never mind that you have never once checked to see if your kid has done your homework or whether he's even going to bed at a reasonable time instead of staying up all night to play video games.

AND YOU TEXT YOUR CHILD DURING SCHOOL KNOWING THAT WE HAVE A NO CELL PHONE POLICY DURING SCHOOL HOURS ... and when we confiscate the phone, you ***** and moan about that even though you signed the parent handbook that says you read and understand the school and district rules.

And you apply for free or reduced breakfasts or waivers for lab fees even though you make five times what I make and drive a BMW or Mercedes ...

And you don't spend enough time with your kid, so he's hanging around my classroom after school because I'm his favorite teacher and he needs guidance and advice from some he knows and trusts ... so now I'm a surrogate parent and auxiliary counselor ...

So on top of EVERYTHING that we already have to deal with ... you want us to become bomb experts as well?

I am very angry right now ... so I am taking my leave of this site. I do not know if I will return but I definitely need to distance myself from some of the crass stupidity I have read in this thread.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Geez Louise ... it's bad enough that some of you send your kids to school without having taught them basic manners such as how to take turns and how to say please and thank you ... so now we have to teach them basic social skills ...

And then you don't take the time to read with your kids or to drill and practice addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts, so we have to figure out how to remediate instruction that's already chock full of crap like character education because some idiot decided that kids need to feel good about themselves even if they've done absolutely nothing ... so we're graduating spoiled entitled kids who thinks that mediocrity should be rewarded because they each got a figging blue ribbon for their science fair project just because they participated and not because the project was actually any good.

When we call you to express concerns about your child's attitude and behavior, you tell us to deal with it because that's our job. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for the lack of support. And if you're feeling in a particularly vindictive mood, you then demand a meeting with our administrative supervisor so that you can blame US for your child's lack of progress and failing grades ... never mind that you have never once checked to see if your kid has done your homework or whether he's even going to bed at a reasonable time instead of staying up all night to play video games.

AND YOU TEXT YOUR CHILD DURING SCHOOL KNOWING THAT WE HAVE A NO CELL PHONE POLICY DURING SCHOOL HOURS ... and when we confiscate the phone, you ***** and moan about that even though you signed the parent handbook that says you read and understand the school and district rules.

And you apply for free or reduced breakfasts or waivers for lab fees even though you make five times what I make and drive a BMW or Mercedes ...

And you don't spend enough time with your kid, so he's hanging around my classroom after school because I'm his favorite teacher and he needs guidance and advice from some he knows and trusts ... so now I'm a surrogate parent and auxiliary counselor ...

So on top of EVERYTHING that we already have to deal with ... you want us to become bomb experts as well?

I am very angry right now ... so I am taking my leave of this site. I do not know if I will return but I definitely need to distance myself from some of the crass stupidity I have read in this thread.

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I don't think the real cause of your upset is us (none of whom have kids at your school, badly behaved or otherwise). But if you need some time to cool down, go ahead and take it. Hopefully when you come back you will be able to contribute to this discussion, and perhaps enrich it by adding a different, and perhaps enlightening, perspective.

As far as the kid who made the clock is concerned, I don't think the English teacher who reported him is at fault. It looked like a bomb to her, she didn't have the knowledge to know the difference. And nobody thinks she should have had that knowledge. The people at fault were the police, who knew right away that it wasn't a bomb, and yet who detained him anyway and who considered trying to invent some other thing to charge him with.

 

[MEDL86]

I don't think the real cause of your upset is us (none of whom have kids at your school, badly behaved or otherwise). But if you need some time to cool down, go ahead and take it. Hopefully when you come back you will be able to contribute to this discussion, and perhaps enrich it by adding a different, and perhaps enlightening, perspective.

As far as the kid who made the clock is concerned, I don't think the English teacher who reported him is at fault. It looked like a bomb to her, she didn't have the knowledge to know the difference. And nobody thinks she should have had that knowledge. The people at fault were the police, who knew right away that it wasn't a bomb, and yet who detained him anyway and who considered trying to invent some other thing to charge him with.

Honestly I don't see anyone here, aside from the kid, who's innocent of anything. Before 9/11, if a kid had brought a homemade clock to school to show the teacher what he/she had learned, the kid would've gotten a pat on the back and recognition for ingenuity, never in a million years would the first response be "it's a bomb", and the police most certainly would not have gotten involved. In fact, stuff like that used to be considered science projects, even when I was a kid. The only reason people jump to such extremes now is because of fear of terrorism, plain and simple.

 

[Ste11aeres]

The only reason people jump to such extremes now is because of fear of terrorism, plain and simple.

Yes. But is it an unjustified fear?

(*Let's remember, it's not just because of 9/11, but also because of school shootings and stuff).

 

[MEDL86]

Yes. But is it an unjustified fear?

(*Let's remember, it's not just because of 9/11, but also because of school shootings and stuff).

Whether it's a justified fear is irrelevant, the statistical probability of that happening is quite remote, when looking at the data as a whole, in the first place, but to use that fear as an excuse to punish a child for being smart, that's plain wrong. When fear takes the place of logical thinking, and determines the course of action for us, that's when society has taken freedom and crapped on it. It's a learning center, and right now, kids are actually being punished for learning things and applying it to life, and being happy about it.
In the case in this thread, the kid knew those notebooks should stay home, that's one thing. But regardless of what someone may have thought, in the end, they tried to punish this kid for scribbles in a notebook. And that's not even the first instance of this very thing. Take all the kids who've been suspended for playing cops and robbers, an innocent game, or the kids who have been suspended for eating a pop tart a certain way because in someone's imagination, it looked like a "gun".

Fear can be used to justify many things, including some of the worst moments in our history, and here we are, doing it all over again, and nobody sees it.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Take all the kids who've been suspended for playing cops and robbers, an innocent game, or the kids who have been suspended for eating a pop tart a certain way because in someone's imagination, it looked like a "gun".

Well, those are completely separate and different incidents from the ones we've been discussing in this thread.

 

[MEDL86]

Well, those are completely separate and different incidents from the ones we've been discussing in this thread.

Yes, but the concept is the same, that's the point. These cases all have the same story, and at no point would a logical person feel that these steps are justified or even logical.
Whether it's scribbles in a notebook, or a very smart student making a clock, or the examples I stated, it's all the same story, people are using fear as a means to punish these kids for perfectly innocent things.

 

[wanderer03]

Unfortunately, US citizens live in a permanent, pervasive, and largely irrational state of fear.