Florida sheriff warns would-be shooters: 'We are going to kill you'

Just days after a bloody school shooting left 19 children dead in Texas, Sheriff Carmine Marceno of Lee County, Florida issued a stark warning to would-be shooters in the Sunshine State: “We are going to kill you.”

Sheriff Judd mixes no words (Polk County vernacular) when it comes to letting you know how he feels about keeping kids safe. We're praying for Uvalde. Have a safe and happy summer everyone. #PrayersForUvalde #UnitedWithUvalde pic.twitter.com/E7swt5oT55

— Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd (@PolkCoSheriff) May 27, 2022

In a video released on social media, Marceno said that if an individual goes “to one of our schools and present[s] deadly force,” his deputies are going to “meet you with deadly force and we are going to kill you.”

“You don’t get to shoot our children, you don’t get to hurt our children,” he said. “You bring deadly force in this county, we are going to kill you.”

Similarly, in a video posted shortly after last week’s deadly shooting, the sheriff told viewers that he and his officers consider the lives of those they have sworn to protect to be more valuable than their own, the Daily Wire reported.

“In our schools, over 100,000 children go to school, over 118 schools in Lee County,” he said. “Our great governor DeSantis has made it very clear, by giving me and all sheriffs and law enforcement across our great state, all the tools that we need to absolutely make certain that our mission is complete, and that is safety and law and order.”

“My policy is very simple,” he continued, “When we get that dreaded call, God forbid, get that dreaded call, we don’t wait one second. We don’t wait one second. For any person or persons that go into a school where our children are and they present deadly force0, they will be met with deadly force immediately. We are going to kill them. We’re not going to hesitate. We’re not going to wait.”

Following last week’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the U.S. Department of Justice said it will investigate the matter, noting that police remained inactive while the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was inside the school for upwards of 80 minutes.

"At the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, the U.S. Department of Justice will conduct a Critical Incident Review of the law enforcement response to the mass shooting," the agency said in a press release.

Texas Department of Public Safety Commissioner Steven McCraw said during a press conference Friday that law enforcement's delayed response was "the wrong decision. Period. There is no excuse for that."

Outrage also spread online last week after a parent said US Marshals arrested her for urging law enforcement to enter the school during the massacre.

The Justice Department said its goal of the assessment, which will be conducted with the Office of Community Oriented Policing, is "to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events."

The agency stressed that the review "will be fair, transparent, and independent" and a report will be published after the investigation's conclusion.