Sheriff warns against people 'shooting' Hurricane Irma

— -- Amid a devastating hurricane in Florida, police there are having to warn people not to shoot at the storm after a Facebook event, "Shoot At Hurricane Irma" garnered 54,000 replies of interest.

"To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won't make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects," warns the sheriff in Pasco County, which is north of Tampa along Florida's west coast.

A description of the "Shoot At Hurricane Irma" event calls the deadly storm "goofy" and declares, "Let's show Irma we shoot first."

BBC news reported that Ryon Edwards, 22, launched the virtual "event" in response to a "combination of stress and boredom" he felt prior to the storm's arrival and that he "never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger" than himself.