News / Society

Gun owners in Florida plan to 'shoot down' Hurricane Irma

Saturday, 09 September 2017 1:54 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 09 September 2017 1:55 PM ]

Gun owners in the US state of Florida have vowed to respond to Hurricane Irma by “shooting at” the storm.

Hurricane Irma, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to hit Florida early on Sunday, causing major damage due to high winds and flooding to the fourth-largest US state by population.

Tens of thousands of people have joined an event advertised on Facebook in which gun owners shoot at the category 4 hurricane bearing down on the southern US state of Florida, the Independent reported on Saturday.

“I’m not going to sit around and wait, I’m going straight into the eye,” wrote one person on Facebook, posting an image of himself with his gun.

Ryon Edwards, who created the event out of sheer boredom and stress, expressed surprise over the huge response to his idea.

“A combination of stress and boredom made me start the event. The response is a complete and total surprise to me," the 22-year-old told BBC Newsbeat.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma, which has shifted between Category 4 and Category 5 classification, is headed to Florida where millions of residents were ordered to evacuate after the storm killed 22 people earlier in the eastern Caribbean and left devastation in its wake.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk