Florida Gun Owner Sparks ‘Shoot at Irma’ Movement as Hurricane Nears

A frustrated Florida gun owner has sparked a movement to get fellow enthusiasts to fire their guns into the face of Hurricane Irma as it makes landfall this weekend.

Late last week, Ryon Edwards of Daytona Beach Shores, a community on the edge of Florida’s central eastern coast, entered an event on Facebook entitled “Shoot at Hurricane Irma.” He meant it as a little joke, but the event quickly went viral as other Floridians signed on to empty their firearms into the storm as it approaches.

More than 50,000 people showed amused interest in joining Ryon in venting his anger at the coming storm, Yahoo! News reported.

Edwards said that his idea to shoot at the storm came out of both frustration and boredom.

“A combination of stress and boredom made me start the event,” he told the BBC.

Edwards said he hoped the Facebook event would “lighten the mood” for the millions of frightened Floridians in the track of the powerful storm.

But the number of people joining his effort surprised him.

“I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control,” he said.

Forecasters claim Hurricane Irma will hit Florida sometime on Saturday, and state officials are urging East Coast residents to evacuate the area for their safety.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has warned his citizens that Irma is on track to be “the most catastrophic” storm on record.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.