Floridians Give Stern Warning to Looters After Ian Wreaks Havoc: ‘You Will Be Shot’

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (FLV) – At ground zero of Hurricane Ian’s Category 4 landfall, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told looters to expect the full force of local law enforcement if they try to take advantage of victims.

“We will hunt you down… we’re not gonna tolerate that… Not in Lee County,” he said as recovery efforts began.

Gov. Ron DeSantis also warned potential looters, telling anyone considering it, “we are a Second Amendment state.”

“Don’t even think about looting… I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you may never know what is lurking behind someone’s home. I would not want to chance that given we’re a Second Amendment state,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said many boarded up their businesses with plywood and wrote messages saying, “you loot we shoot.”

“At the end of the day, we are not going to allow lawlessness to take advantage of this situation. We are a law and order state and this is a law and order community – so do not think you’re going to go take advantage of people who’ve suffered misfortune,” DeSantis said.

Officials previously reported a looting incident occurred at a gas station in Fort Myers.

Some Florida residents posted the grim warnings for looters in communities ransacked by Ian.

“Why we [don’t] have a looting problem,” one user said, referencing a ‘You Will Be Shot‘ sign.