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Teen Wears Fake Bomb To Ask Girl On Prom Date

A US high school student has been suspended after strapping a fake bomb to his waist to ask a girl to prom.

Ibrahim Ahmad wore the bogus suicide belt in a questionable bid to win a date with classmate Rilea Wolfe in the northwestern state of Washington.

The 18-year-old was suspended for five days from the school in the town of La Center, 150 miles (240km) south of Seattle.

Rilea said yes to the "promposal", but the disciplinary action will keep Ibrahim from attending Saturday night's prom, reports the Columbian.

The teenager said he was inspired to make the fake bomb by stuffing red paper tubes attached to red wires into the pockets of a paintball vest.

Ibrahim took to the stage in the cafeteria at lunchtime and held 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?"

He told the Columbian: "I'm Middle Eastern, and I thought the bomb was kind of funny and clever.

"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."

But Mark Mansell, superintendent of the school district, said the student's stunt showed "blatant disrespect".

"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 told the Columbian.

The stunt highlights the so-called promposal phenomenon of American teenagers going to increasingly elaborate measures to secure a date to the much-celebrated high school dance.

A study this week by Visa on teenagers' credit card spending found the average prom costs $919 (£607) per couple, with $324 going towards the promposal.