Sheriff Grady Judd Tells Floridians to Use Their Guns if Looters Enter Their Homes

POLK COUNTY (FLV) – Just over a week after Hurricane Ian decimated southwest Florida, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd urged Floridians to protect their homes against looters during an interview on FOX & Friends Friday morning.

“I would highly suggest if a looter breaks into your home, comes into your home while you’re there to steal stuff – that you take your gun and you shoot him – you shoot him so he looks like grated cheese,” Judd told Host Ainsley Earhardt.

“You know what – that’s one looter that won’t break into anyone else’s home and take advantage of them when they’re the most vulnerable and the most weak,” Judd said.

Earhardt said many residents are saying, “you loot – we shoot,” and are armed.

Judd says although he has a team helping out, law enforcement is stretched thin right now and people “got to help law-enforcement at this particular time.” He says law-enforcement is made for normal times and short term emergencies.

“They make break in, but they should be carried out in a pine box, because that is unacceptable that cuts against all laws and all reality- you have the right and your property has the right to be safe and secure in your home – what’s left of it,” Judd said.

San Carlos Island resident Joey Fernandez told NewsNation he was forced to arm himself after his neighborhood was targeted during the night.

“There was a guy loading up my red jet ski in the middle of the road in front of everybody. There was a pickup truck trying to take one of my bikes,” Fernandez said.

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

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced that some looters that were arrested are in the country illegally Tuesday.

“All three of these subjects are here illegally in this country — Robert Mena, Brandon Araya, Stephen Araya — all arrested for stealing bottles on Fort Myers Beach during the hurricane. They were located and arrested. And I’m going to tell I’m not tolerating it again,” he said. “As far as looting — we have law and order in Lee County. We have law and order in our great state of Florida, and we always will.”

DeSantis has previously warned against trying to take advantage of the storm’s victims in Florida: “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.”

On the latest arrests, DeSantis said, “If I could, I would take those three looters, I’d drag them out by the collars and send them back to where they came from!”