An 18-year-old high school student from Washington state thought it was clever to fake a bomb attack to get a date with a girl for the prom.
Ibrahim Ahmad, who is of Middle Eastern descent, wore a fake suicide bomb belt and asked classmate Rilea Wilson out on a date to the school event. He even videotaped it:
He wore the belt and a sign that reads: “I kno it’s A little Late, But I’m kinda… THE BOMB!” while standing up on a stage in the cafeteria. “Rilea, Will U Be My Date To Prom?”
La Center High School authorities didn’t think it was too clever, and there was a reported panic at the school until they realized it was fake.
Now Ahmad won’t be able to attend the prom even though Wilson agreed to his proposal.
“I’m Middle Eastern, and I thought the bomb was kind of funny and clever,” he said, explaining himself to the Columbian.
“I wasn’t wearing the vest for more than, like, 20 seconds. I asked her, took a picture, took it off, and then the school got upset.”
Mark Mansell, superintendent of the school district, said his stunt was problematic.
“Given the way the world is today and school safety, even if one parent or one student was upset about this, it causes issues,” he was quoted by the Columbian as saying.
Speaking with a local station, KGW, Ahmad said he thought it was a dumb, harmless joke.
“I thought it looked really corny,” he said.
He said he make the fake bomb out of an old paintball vest, paper tubes, and wires.