(Fox News) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a stern warning to those trying to take advantage of the victims of Hurricane Ian.
DeSantis made the comments Friday during a news conference in Fort Myers, Florida. He said that while visiting nearby Punta Gorda, he saw a boarded-up business 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 do not think that you’re going to take advantage of people who’ve suffered misery.”
“Don’t even think about looting,” he said during another press conference later in the day.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives an update on the damage from Hurricane Ian on Thursday. (Florida Governor’s Office)
DeSantis added that people looking to “ransack people’s homes” should beware: Florida is a Second Amendment state.
“I can tell you in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home,” he said. “And I would not want to chance that if I were you — given that we’re a Second Amendment state.”
Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, and nearly 2 million people remained without power as of Friday afternoon.
The hurricane made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds reaching 155 mph.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno also said that he “will not tolerate” anyone trying to take advantage of people suffering as a result of the storm’s damage.
Flooding in central Florida from Hurricane Ian. (Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
