Ahmed Mohamed thanks supporters for standing with him

The Irving, Texas, Police Department has dropped all charges against Ahmed Mohamed following a widespread, social media-driven show of support, The Guardian reports.

Mohamed, who is a Muslim of Sudanese descent, was arrested and pulled out of school on Monday for being building a clock that school officials and police thought looked like a bomb. A solidarity campaign erupted on social media under the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed, bringing national focus to an act of racial discrimination that could have easily remained unknown and unquestioned like countless others.

“I felt pretty down that no one would know about this,” a beaming Mohamed told reporters Wednesday. “It made me really happy to see all these people support me and support others.”

The 14-year-old added that he’s interested in attending MIT someday, but that in the meantime he’d like to transfer from McArthur High School to “any other school.” His father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, said that he’s “proud” of his “very smart, brilliant boy.”

In related news, more than 30,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Irving leaders to “do far more to create an inclusive community free from profiling and discrimination.”

Related coverage:

• Scientists and engineers of color are using #IStandWithAhmed to show solidarity with Ahmed Mohamed

• Bobby Jindal at GOP Debate on Ahmed Mohamed arrest: “I’m glad police are careful”