Florida Sheriff Warns Facebook Live Group: 'Don't Shoot At Hurricane Irma'

Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean last week and had its sights set on Florida. Locals decided to try and fight the impending storm off when they signed up via Facebook to take aim and shoot at the once Category 5 storm. Local sheriff’s department urged residents against doing so due to safety concerns.

The eye of the storm made landfall Sunday morning in the Florida Keys and has its sights set on Tampa. Pasco County is located on the west coast of Florida near Tampa. About 54,000 Pasco County residents signed up for the Facebook Live event known as Shoot at Hurricane Irma and over 25,000 people confirmed their attendance on Sunday.

"Oh, so this goofy looking windy headass named Irma said they pulling up on us, lets show Irma that we shoot first," the Facebook Live event read.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office took to social media and warned people against trying to attack the storm. They posted a model which explained the dangers of attempting to shoot at the storm.

"To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won't make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects," the sheriff's office tweeted from the official account.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco explained that the sheriff’s office took this matter seriously and issued a warning for those who may attempt to shoot at the storm. The sheriff’s office advised against the use of firearms during the storm.

"Over 99 percent of the people out there have common sense and are listening, but we in law enforcement deal with the 1 percent, so we are trying to get the message to them," the sheriff told USA Today.

The Facebook event founder, Ryon Edwards, 22, explained that he created the event to release stress during the storm. He claimed he didn’t expect over 50,000 people to respond.

"A combination of stress and boredom made me start the event," he told the BBC. "The response is a complete and total surprise to me.

"I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control."

Edwards, a Florida native said law enforcement's decision to address the issue surprised him. He claimed that people should have realized that he was joking.

"I figured (law enforcement officers) of all people would understand the humor behind (the group)," Edwards wrote in a Facebook message.

"Well guys, it's here. The moment we've been waiting for. It was cool to see the response this got from Facebook. On another note, I've learned that about 50 percent of the world could not understand sarcasm to save their lives. Carry on."