The family of the 14-year-old Muslim boy who was led out of school in handcuffs has hired attorneys to get back the homemade clock that administrators mistook for a bomb, NBC News reports.
Ahmed Mohamed was suspended after showing his clock to a teacher at his Irving, Texas, high school last week. His case sparked an outcry on social media and attracted the attention of President Obama and a number of tech companies that invited Mohamed to visit.
His family said in a statement Wednesday that it had pulled Ahmed and his two siblings out of the Irving school district "because of religious persecution," and had decided to home-school the kids.
Mohamed was arrested after officials at his school in Irving, Texas, mistook to the home-made clock for a bomb. His treatment drew an outcry on social media and charges of Islamophobia. Google, Facebook and NASA all expressed support for the boy.
The Irving Independent School District confirmed to NBC News that the family withdrew Mohamed on Tuesday afternoon.
"All along we had said he was certainly welcome to stay in our school. We believe he can receive a quality education here in Irving," Lesley Weaver, director of communications for the district, said. "But we certainly respect the family's right to withdraw him."