‘You loot, we shoot’: Ron DeSantis issues warning to would-be thieves planning to strike amid Hurricane Idalia
"If you go break into somebody’s house and you’re trying to loot, these are people that are going to be able to defend themselves," Ron DeSantis said
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned potential thieves that anyone who tries to loot amid the chaos of Hurricane Idalia will have to face severe consequences. “You loot, we shoot,” Ron said during a recent press conference, according to New York Post.
“People have a right to defend their property. This part of Florida, you got a lot of advocates and proponents of the Second Amendment, and I’ve seen signs in different people’s yards in the past after these disasters, and I would say it’s probably here – ‘You loot, we shoot,” the governor said.
Ron made the remarks while responding to attempted lootings in Steinhatchee, a town of 537 people in Taylor County, Florida. This is where Idalia made landfall. Ron went on to say that it was “ridiculous” that anyone would try to loot just after the hurricane ravaged the areas.
‘You never know what’s behind that door’
“I’ve told all of our personnel at the state level, you know, you protect people’s property and we are not going to tolerate any looting in the aftermath of a natural disaster,” Ron said. “You never know what’s behind that door. If you go break into somebody’s house and you’re trying to loot, these are people that are going to be able to defend themselves and their families.”
“Don’t even think about looting. Don’t even think about taking advantage of people in this vulnerable situation,” Ron said, adding that there were some people “bringing boats” onto islands affected by the storm and trying to ransack people’s homes.”
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“I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home, and I would not wanna chance that if I were you, given that we’re a Second Amendment state,” he added.
On Wednesday morning, August 30, Idalia made landfall as a powerful Category 3 storm in Keaton Beach, along Florida's Gulf Coast near Tallahassee. It later hit Florida's Big Bend area with winds of 125 miles per hour. The storm’s strength declined as it moved toward north Florida and into Georgia. Late in the afternoon on Wednesday, it was downgraded to a tropical storm. In the night, it moved into the southeastern part of South Carolina. Strong winds and heavy rains caused flooding and damage in various areas.