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Police: David Hogg targeted in ‘swatting’ call

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office received a hoax call about a hostage situation at the home

By Police1 Staff

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Parkland activist David Hogg has become the latest high-profile target of the dangerous “swatting” trend, in which a caller makes a prank call to law enforcement in order to draw a large police response.

Police surrounded his family’s home after the Broward County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a hostage situation Tuesday morning, WLPG reports. Law enforcement later determined the call was a hoax.

Police said no one was at the home, according to the Miami-Herald. Hogg is currently in Washington to accept an RFK Human Rights Award.

Gina Carter, BSO spokeswoman, said the initial call reported that someone was in the home with a weapon in a possible hostage situation. Carter said SWAT officers responded and cleared the residence before determining “it was a hoax.”

Hogg, who’s been a prominent gun control activist following the shooting at his school in Parkland, said the “swatting” call is a “distraction.”

“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 told WLPG.

The BSO said they are investigating the incident.

https://twitter.com/WPLGLocal10/status/1003997046792171520

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