A Washington state high school suspended a senior for five days Wednesday because he asked a girl to Saturday’s prom while wearing a belt with fake explosives, The Columbian reports.
In the cafeteria of La Center High School north of Vancouver, Wash., Ibrahim Ahmad, 18, stuffed the pockets of the paintball vest around his waist with red tubes and wires and held up a sign that read “I kno it’s A little Late, But I’m kinda…THE BOMB! Rilea, Will U Be My Date To Prom?”
Ahmad, who won’t be going to prom, told The Columbian, “In ‘promposals,’ you’re supposed to go big.”
School superintendent Mark Mansell told the newspaper the suspension was appropriate because “I want all my kids to feel safe.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com