Parkland Survivor David Hogg's Home 'Swatted'

Deputies from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office responded to the home of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg on Tuesday morning after receiving a call about a hostage situation there.

The caller ― in what was later deemed a malicious prank ― claimed someone with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle had broken into the residence and was holding the family hostage.

SWAT units and a police helicopter responded to the home, which was empty, reports NBC Miami. So-called swatting calls are designed to send heavily armed law enforcement officers to the target’s residence, wasting police resources and in some cases killing innocent people.

Hogg and his Parkland, Florida, Marjory Stoneman Douglas classmates have been targeted for harassment because of their advocacy for stricter gun control, a cause they’ve championed since a gunman stormed their high school on Feb. 14 and killed 17 people.

Hogg dismissed Tuesday morning’s harassment in an interview with Local 10 News.

“I think it’s really a distraction from what we’re trying to fix here,” he said. “Which is the massive gun violence epidemic in this country.”