Florida sheriff warns citizens: Don’t shoot at Hurricane Irma

A Florida sheriff is warning citizens not to shoot guns at Hurricane Irma as the monster storm approaches Florida.

“To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma,” the Pasco County, Fla. sheriff tweeted. “You won’t make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects.”

To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won’t make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effectshttps://t.co/CV4Y9OJknv

— Pasco Sheriff (@PascoSheriff) September 10, 2017

{mosads}The sheriff was responding to a viral Facebook event that jokingly encouraged people to shoot guns at the hurricane. More than 26,000 people have marked themselves as “attending” the event.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence also issued a warning to followers to not shoot guns at the storm.

⚠️ Unfortunately we must issue the following warning ⚠️ DO NOT SHOOT YOUR GUNS AT THE HURRICANE!!! ‍♂️‍♂️‍♂️https://t.co/diS56jWInX

— CSGV (@CSGV) September 9, 2017

One of the creators of the event, Ryon Edwards, told Yahoo News that he created the event out of “stress and boredom.”

“I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control,” Edwards said.

Other joke Irma events have been created in the days leading up to the storm, including “Push Hurricane Irma Somewhere Else” and “Peacefully Protesting Hurricane Irma.”

“Let’s show Hurricane Irma that her ideology of violence and destruction are not welcome in Gainesville,” the latter event’s description reads.

Nearly 7 million people were asked to evacuate ahead of Irma’s landfall, which is expected to occur Sunday. The Category 4 storm has reached the Florida Keys and is battering the islands with strong winds and storm surge as it makes its way towards mainland Florida.