Robber Aims Gun at Kids, Learns the Hard Way What Their Daddy's Job Is
An armed thug who attempted to rob a Florida branch of Bank of America back in 2011 learned a lesson that day that’ll probably stick with him for the rest of his life.
Present at the bank at the same time that the thug tried to rob it was Army Staff Sgt. Eddie Peoples, who had recently returned to Sarasota while on leave from his base in Italy, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Peoples had been en route that day to take his 4- and 6-year-old sons fishing when he decided to swing by the bank.
It was while Peoples and his sons were at the bank that the robber walked in with a handgun and demanded cash from the tellers.
The Herald-Tribune noted that Peoples’ sons started giggling when the robbery began because they falsely presumed it was just a gag.
Unfortunately, this laughter caught the robber’s attention.
“The only thing that went through my mind was, ‘Don’t let them get hurt,'” Peoples told the Herald-Tribune, describing how he tried tucking his sons behind some lobby chairs to take the robber’s attention off them.
While that took the robber’s attention off Peoples’ kids, it did bring the attention onto him, a fairly brawny man with the build of a true soldier.
As the thug continued his robbery, instructing the various tellers to put their money in a bag for him, he “kept his eye on Peoples” and warned that “the big black guy” better not try anything, as reported by the Herald-Tribune.
But it’s what happened next that made all the difference.
“As the robber prepared to flee the bank, he pointed the gun at Peoples’ sons, Ikaika and Kioni, who were peering through the chairs,” the Herald-Tribune reported. “Peoples does not remember the robber’s exact words, but said the man warned others in the bank not to try anything ‘or the kid will get it.'”
Big mistake, pal. Big, big, big, big, big mistake.
“When he threatened my son, I could not let that pass,” Peoples recalled.
Keep in mind the Herald-Tribune described Peoples as “a battle-tested veteran of Iraq and Kuwait who won a medal for helping repel a mortar and ground attack.”
Incensed by the robber’s threat, Peoples chased him outside and proceeded to give him a thrashing so spectacular that Peoples was later formally recognized by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office for his actions.
Watch footage from that ceremony below, and pay close attention to Peoples’ description of what happened between him and the thug:
Did you catch that? When Peoples confronted the robber outside, the thug pointed a gun directly at him. But instead of backing down, Peoples used his impressive military skills to strip the gun away from the thug and drop him to the ground.
BOOM.
So what’s the lesson of this story? Actually, there are several for criminals and would-be criminals out there:
One: Please don’t rob banks.
Two: Don’t threaten military veterans.
Three: Don’t ever point a weapon at military veterans’ children.
These are very simple lessons, really, but unfortunately for the thug in this case, he had to learn them the painful way.
Just so you know, though, the gun he used turned out to be a realistic-looking toy gun.
H/T Police Community
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