The man behind an online group that urged Floridians to shoot guns at Hurricane Irma — forcing cops to warn against it — admitted Sunday it was a bad joke.
Ryon Edwards, who launched the 54,000-member Facebook group “Shoot At Hurricane Irma,” said people simply misunderstood his sense of humor.
“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,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“I figured (law enforcement officers) of all people would understand the humor behind (the group),” he added.
On Friday, the group declared, “Let’s show Irma that we shoot first… Florida is a Stand Your Ground state, after all.”
But the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office was then forced to warn Floridians not to actually unleash bullets on the tropical cyclone.
“DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won’t make it turn around (and) it will have very dangerous side effects,” The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office tweeted late Saturday.
The police officers feared folks from the Sunshine State simply might not get the joke, said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.
“Over 99% of the people out there have common sense and are listening, but we in law enforcement deal with the 1%, so we are trying to get the message to them,” explained Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.
Hurricane Irma tore through Miami on Sunday morning.