--- description: Florida authorities are telling people not to aim their weapons at Hurricane Irma after a Facebook event went viral. title: Florida Police Warn People Not to Shoot Their Guns at Hurricane Irma image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ba6f6131ee8e4d0/6988dd257cdbac67bdd59f3c/gettyimages-845159172.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Florida](/tag/florida/) ## Florida Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Florida Police Warn People Not to Shoot Their Guns at Hurricane Irma  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2017 2:40 PM CUT  Tati Roberts of Key West, Fla., retreats from the Higgs Beach pier Saturday, September 9, 2017. Tati Roberts of Key West, Fla., retreats from the Higgs Beach pier Saturday, September 9, 2017.The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2017 2:40 PM CUT Florida authorities are advising people against firing weapons at Hurricane Irma following a Facebook event titled “Shoot At Hurricane Irma” that garnered interest from over 45,000 accounts. “To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons at Irma,” the Twitter account of the Pasco County Sheriff’s office [tweeted](https://twitter.com/PascoSheriff/status/906712903868469249 "undefined") on Saturday night, just hours before the eye of the storm passed over the Florida Keys. “You won’t make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects.” Bullets fired into a storm system like a hurricane can have unpredictable and potentially dangerous trajectories. > [](https://twitter.com/PascoSheriff/status/906712903868469249) Ryon Edwards, one of the host of the events, wrote in a Facebook message to TIME that the event was started as a joke that took on a life of its own. “I am amazed that anyone could see it as anything else than a joke,” he said. But the response indicates Floridians’ heightened anxiety as the force of Hurricane Irma weighs down on the Sunshine State. Irma made landfall Sunday morning in the Florida Keys, and is[ expected to move](http://time.com/4934755/this-is-where-hurricane-irma-is-now/ "undefined") towards the central and northwestern parts of the state Sunday and Monday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4935117/hurricane-irma-guns-florida/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4935117/hurricane-irma-guns-florida/"},"headline":"Florida Police Warn People Not to Shoot Their Guns at Hurricane Irma","datePublished":"2017-09-10T14:40:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:21:22.785Z","description":"After a Facebook event encouraged people to do so","url":"https://time.com/4935117/hurricane-irma-guns-florida/","keywords":["Florida","onetime","hurricane irma"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ba6f6131ee8e4d0/6988dd257cdbac67bdd59f3c/gettyimages-845159172.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ba6f6131ee8e4d0/6988dd257cdbac67bdd59f3c/gettyimages-845159172.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Irma Key West","caption":"Irma Key West","creditText":"The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/florida/","name":"Florida"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4935117/hurricane-irma-guns-florida/","name":"Florida Police Warn People Not to Shoot Their Guns at Hurricane Irma"}}]}] ```