Ahmed Mohamed Meets Florida Engineering Student Arrested Under Similar Circumstances
Kiera Wilmot was arrested in 2013 under similar circumstances as Mohamed.
— -- Just before meeting with President Obama on Monday, Ahmed Mohammed also recently got to meet Kiera Wilmot, a now 19-year-old engineering student who was also invited to the White House's Astronomy Night and who was also previously arrested under similar circumstances.
Like Mohamed -- who was arrested and later released by police in Irving, Texas, last month after a homemade clock he brought to school was mistaken for a bomb -- Wilmot was also arrested and later released by police in Bartow, Florida, two years ago when her volcano science project was accused of being a bomb. In both their cases, no students were injured and no school property was damaged.
Though police announced no charges would be brought against Mohamed, 14, after an investigation, Wilmot was actually booked on bomb charges that were later dropped a month later, after significant public outcry.
Wilmot, who told ABC News she knew "exactly what he went through," said she was "excited" she finally got to meet Mohamed on Monday during the White House's Astronomy Night.
"I got to meet Ahmed just before walking through the doors of the White House, and it was really cool," she said. "We acknowledged each other, took a picture and then had to part ways."
Although the two didn't get to speak much, Wilmot said she hopes to get in touch with Mohamed soon so they can "speak about our experiences with each other."
"I feel we really understand what each other's been through and we have similar mindsets about it," Wilmot said.
The Florida Polytechnic engineering student added that she, Ahmed and other special invitees got to stargaze and use telescopes to see "the moon, star clusters, star nebulas" during the "very educational but fun" night. And though she didn't get to meet President Obama one-on-one, she did get to hear him speak at the event, she said.
Wilmot added that her advice for anyone going through a similar situation that she and Mohamed had to go through is "to keep your head up" because "you have so many people behind you fighting for you."