PARKLAND, Fla. – The family of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student advocate David Hogg was "swatted" Tuesday, prompting a heavy law enforcement response to their Parkland home.
Authorities arrived at Hogg's home after the Broward Sheriff's Office received a call about a hostage situation underway there, according to News 6 sister station WPLG.
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When Coral Springs Fire Rescue crews arrived at the scene, they learned that there was no hostage situation and that the call was a prank.
Neither Hogg nor his mother were home at the time, since they're both currently in Washington to accept the RFK Human Rights award. He learned of the swatting incident through a phone call from a friend.
In a phone interview with WPLG, Hogg expressed his disappointment over the swatting incident.
"I think it's really a distraction from what we're trying to fix here, which is the massive gun-violence epidemic in this country," Hogg said.
Swatting refers to the making of a prank emergency call to bring about a response by law enforcement.
Since the February shootings at Stoneman Douglas, Hogg has been an outspoken advocate for gun safety, often sparking controversy with his methods of raising awareness, including his recent "die-in" protest at a South Florida Publix.
Hogg said Tuesday morning's incident showed that some people don't agree with his recent work.
"(It's) evidence of the fact of how many people are trying to stop us from what we're trying to do, which is stop these kids from dying," Hogg said.
He said incidents like this won't stop him or his fellow gun control advocates from spreading their message.
"There's people trying to distract from what we're trying to push here, which is the March For Our Lives Road To Change," Hogg said. "And I want people to know, like, we're just trying to advocate for change. There's going to be people against it and always will be, but we're going to keep going no matter what. Nothing will stop us."