Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a stern warning to those trying to take advantage of the victims of Hurricane Ian.
DeSantis made the comments on Friday during a news conference in Fort Myers, Florida. He said that while visiting Punta Gorda, Florida, he saw a boarded-up business with a sign that read, "You loot, we shoot."
"We are a law and order state, and this is a law and order community," DeSantis said. "So do not think that you're going to take advantage of people who've suffered misery."
"Don't even think about looting," DeSantis said during a later press conference on Friday.
HURRICANE IAN IN FLORIDA SPURS FRANTIC MESSAGES ABOUT MISSING LOVED ONES AND WRECKED HOMES
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives an update Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, on the damage from Tropical Storm Ian. (Florida Governor's Office)
DeSantis added that people looking to "ransack people's homes," should beware: Florida is a Second Amendment state.
"I can tell you in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody's home," DeSantis said. "And I would not want to chance that if I were you. Given that we're a Second Amendment state."
Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday afternoon, and nearly 2 million people remained without power as of Friday afternoon.
The hurricane made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds reaching 155 mph.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno also said that he "will not tolerate" anyone trying to take advantage of people suffering as a result of the storm's damage.
IAN DOWNGRADED TO POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE AS IT LASHES CAROLINAS; FLORIDA OFFICIALS REPORT MORE DEATHS
Flooding in central Florida from Hurricane Ian. (Orange County Sheriff's Office)
Orange County Sheriff's Office help Florida residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. (Orange County Sheriff's Office)
Video captured by WFTX reporter Elyse Chengery showed a pool at a hotel on Sanibel Island, Florida, Wednesday, before Hurricane Ian flooded it. (WFTX / Elyse Chengery)
Video captured by WFTX reporter Elyse Chengery showed Hurricane Ian submerge a pool at a hotel on Sanibel Island, Florida, Wednesday, in less than an hour. (WFTX / Elyse Chengery)
Sisters walk along the shore of a receded Tampa Bay as water was pulled out from the bay in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. ((Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images))
Debris litters a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, Florida on Sept. 29, 2022. (Ricardo Arduengo /AFP via Getty Images)
"We are not going to tolerate, I mean, zero tolerance when we say anyone that thinks they're going to thrive on the residents of this county or state when we just took a horrific hit, I can guarantee you that is not going to happen," Marceno said.
Marceno said there will be "swift incarceration immediately with no tolerance."
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Wind gusts blow debris across the John Ringling Causeway as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on Sept. 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Wind gusts blow across Sarasota Bay as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on Sept. 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Waves crash along the Ballast Point Pier ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Debris litters a street in a neighborhood of St. Pete Beach as the winds from Hurricane Ian arrive on Sept. 28, 2022 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
A downed tree covers the road after being toppled by the winds and rain from Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida. Ian is hitting the area as a Category 4 hurricane. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Rain falls over a parking lot at Fort Myers Beach ahead of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly gained strength -- with winds reaching 155 miles an hour -- as it barreled toward the coast of Florida, threatening to rip roofs off of homes, wreck agricultural crops and cripple infrastructure as one of the costliest storms to ever hit the US. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A man walks near Ballast Point Pier as water moves away from shore as Hurricane Ian begins to move into the area, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Twenty-one deaths have been reported throughout Florida after Hurricane Ian went through the state, according to FOX 35, but officials say the number is expected to rise.
On Friday afternoon, Ian made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Ian to a post-tropical cyclone.
Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Adam.Sabes@fox.com and on Twitter @asabes10.
