it's weird that someone would be so blatantly tribal. im hoping just regular stupidity is a factor in it.
like it is very clearly not a bomb
i mean seriously they asked the kids to bring in their inventions and a clock is about as loving basic as it gets
iirc the police's response to it being a clock is to charge the poor kid with a bomb hoax, the guy who interrogated him (WHO ALSO BROKE A FEW RIGHTS LAWS) said that he kept insisting that it was a clock rather than "reveal more details about it", therefore the kid must've been trying to fool him into thinking it was just a clock or something