Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a stern warning to those trying to take advantage of Hurricane Ian victims.
DeSantis made the comments Friday at a press conference in Fort Myers, Fla. He said that while visiting Punta Gorda, Florida, he saw a boarded-up store with a sign that read, “You Loot, We Shoot.”
“We are a law and order state and this is a law and order community,” DeSantis said. “So don’t try to take advantage of people who have been miserable.”
“Don’t think about looting,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Friday.
Hurricane Ian in Florida spurs enthusiastic messages about missing loved ones and destroyed homes
DeSantis added that people trying to “loot people’s homes” should be careful. Florida is a Second Amendment state.
“In Florida, you never know what’s lurking behind someone’s house,” DeSantis said. Given that it is a state
Ian landed in Florida on Wednesday afternoon, leaving nearly 2 million people without power as of Friday afternoon.
The hurricane made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm with maximum sustained wind speeds of 155 mph.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno also said he “won’t tolerate” anyone trying to take advantage of people suffering from the storm.
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“When we say that some people think they’ll thrive in this county or state when we’re hit hard, we don’t tolerate it. I mean zero tolerance. What happens?” ‘ said Marceno.
Marceno said he would “immediately imprison him without mercy.”
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Twenty-one deaths have been reported across Florida after Hurricane Ian passed through the state. Fox 35but officials say that number is expected to rise.
On Friday afternoon, Ian landed near Georgetown, South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center has downgraded Ian to a tropical storm.