The Parkland school shooting survivor and gun reform activist David Hogg was the victim of a so-called “swatting” prank on Tuesday, when a hoax 911 call saying he had been kidnapped sent a team of heavily armed police officers to his house.
Neither Hogg nor any family members were at their home when the Broward sheriff’s office Swat team responded to the anonymous call shortly after 8.30am.
“The call was regarding someone in the home with a weapon,” Gina Carter, a BSO spokesperson, told the Guardian. “We responded to the home and cleared the property. It was established that the call was a hoax and detectives are investigating to try to find out who made the call.”
Carter added that officers quickly determined that the house, in an upscale gated community, was unoccupied. They made contact with the Hogg family, who were in Washington DC, to make sure they were safe.
Two elementary schools in Parkland were placed on a temporary lockdown.
In January, a “swatting” call allegedly placed by a California man led to a man in Wichita, Kansas being shot dead by local police.
Hogg, 18, has become an outspoken advocate for gun law reform since the 14 February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in which 14 students and three teachers were killed. He has often found himself the target of abuse.
Last month a Florida police officer was suspended for a Facebook post in which he suggested Hogg should be run over at a protest against a supermarket chain that donated to a pro-National Rifle Association politician.
Hogg, a founding member of the March for Our Lives movement that has staged nationwide rallies, described Tuesday’s incident as “a silly prank”.
“It’s an attempt to try to distract us from what we are trying to do, which is solve the gun violence epidemic and get youth out to vote,” he told CBS News.
Hogg said he had no idea who might have been behind the call. Shortly after learning of the incident, he tweeted: “I could really use a chocolate muffin right now.”
While the Swat team was descending on their house, the Hogg family were in Washington, where he and his fellow activists were receiving the RF Kennedy human rights award.
On Monday, Stoneman Douglas students announced a Road to Change tour, a two-month trip through 20 states, including stops in cities affected by gun violence or where politicians tied to the gun lobby have been elected.
He told the Guardian the goal was engagement: “Not speaking at people like we do through the TV and have done a lot of the time at these marches and things, but speaking with them, understanding that we’re going to have our disagreements.
“We all want to prevent our children from dying from gun violence. For example, if you don’t agree with common sense gun reform, we can work together to promote better mental healthcare funding.”