Hurricane Irma: Florida police urge residents not to fire their guns at vicious storm

Whatever you do, don’t fire guns at Hurricane Irma as it rips through Florida.

That’s what one sheriff’s office in Florida is warning residents over Twitter.

“To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma,” the Pasco Sheriff's office tweeted late Saturday. “You won’t make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects.”

It might seem like a strange warning, but there’s a reason behind it: Around 80,000 people have expressed interest in a Facebook group titled “Shoot at Hurricane Irma,” as of 8 a.m. Sunday.

“YO SO THIS GOOFY LOOKING WINDY HEAD--- NAMED IRMA SAID THEY PULLING UP ON US,” the Facebook event’s description reads. “LETS SHOW IRMA THAT WE SHOOT FIRST ”

The event, scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday with the vague location of just “Florida,” immediately prompted dire warnings from the Pasco Sheriff’s office and others on Twitter suggesting the plan was pointless at best — and dangerous at worst.

Irma, a Category 4 storm, has already barreled through the Dominican Republic, parts of Haiti, Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and others, leaving devastation in its wake.

Ryon Edwards, who created the viral Facebook event, said it came about from "a combination of stress and boredom.”

"The response is a complete and total surprise to me,” he told BBC. "I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control."

This story was originally published September 10, 2017 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Hurricane Irma: Florida police urge residents not to fire their guns at vicious storm."