CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - The family of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg was "swatted" Tuesday morning, prompting deputies to respond to their Parkland home.
A call came into the Broward Sheriff's Office claiming a hostage situation at the home.
Coral Springs Fire Rescue arrived at the scene to find there was no hostage situation and the call was a prank.
Hogg was not home at the time of the incident and is currently in Washington with his mother to accept the RFK Human Rights award.
In a phone call with Local 10 News, Hogg sounded off on the massive law enforcement presence at his home after the prank call.
"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," an emotional Hogg told Local 10 News reporter Liane Morejon.
Hogg said he found out about the swatting incident through a phone call from a friend.
Sky 10 was over the home as units were staged outside as a precaution. BSO deputies and a BSO helicopter swarmed the neighborhood.
Swatting is the action of making a prank emergency call to bring about a response of armed law enforcement officers.
Neighbors who spoke to Local 10 News reporter Alex Finnie said the incident put them on edge.
"Today, we're walking – we're going for a walk, and we saw some helicopters here, so we're like, 'Oh my God. What's going on?'" Marcia Marques said. "We are still trying to overcome everything because everything is very difficult, but that episode made us feel more attentive."
"Two police cars, two motorcycles. We should be doing better," Courtney Keisen, who lives in the neighborhood and attends Stoneman Douglas, said. "Something like this shouldn't happen a lot."
Since the shootings at Stoneman Douglas, Hogg has been a prominent advocate for gun safety. However, Hogg has been a lightning rod for controversy as some do not approve of his methods, such as holding a "die-in" protest at a Coral Springs Publix last week.
Hogg said the incident is "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."
"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."
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