As Florida tries to recover from the devastating flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Ian, Governor Ron DeSantis is issuing a warning to those seeking to take advantage of the situation by looting homes.
“Don’t even think about looting, don’t even think about taking advantage of people in this vulnerable situation,” DeSantis said, as reported by the Fox35 network.
Speaking in St. Augustine on Friday, the governor said he is concerned about looters entering areas that were hit especially hard by Ian.
“You never know what might be lurking behind someone’s house. And I wouldn’t want to take that chance if I were you since we’re a second amendment state.”
“There could be people bringing boats to some of these islands and trying to loot people’s homes,” DeSantis said. “I can tell you in the state of Florida, you never know what might be lurking behind someone’s house. And I wouldn’t want to take any chances if I were you since we’re a second amendment state.”
DeSantis addressed the looting issue at least twice Friday at news conferences, once near Fort Myers and then in St. Augustine.
“They boarded up all the businesses, and there are people who wrote on their plywood, ‘you loot, we shoot,’” DeSantis warned.
Attorney General Ashley Moody retweeted a video of people allegedly arrested for looting in Fort Myers Beach.
“Florida will not tolerate looters taking advantage of the #HurricaneIan to prey on vulnerable Floridians. They will be arrested and I have asked state prosecutors to seek the longest possible pre-trial detention to keep them locked up so they can’t commit any new crimes.”
Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health has issued several boil water advisories for Collier, Hillsborough, Pasco, Orange and other counties.
Power outages continue, and some areas will need days or even weeks to recover and get power back on. Earlier Friday, the power outage figure was 1.9 million, so there has been some improvement in restoration.
FEMA is also distributing millions of meals and liters of water in affected areas.