Not even army heroes take a day off it appears.
An Army staff sergeant who was home on leave chased down and captured a bank robber who pointed a gun at his children.
Eddie Peoples was at the Bank of America branch in Sarasota, Florida, with his four and six-year-old sons when the man walked in with a handgun.
He pointed it at customers and the tellers, demanding that they fill his bag with cash and threatened to kill anyone who did not get on the ground.
Scroll down for video
Hero: Staff Sgt Eddie Peoples, who chased down a bank robber, in full combat gear serving in Iraq
Hold up: As the robber points his gun, Eddie’s two kids can be seen in the background sitting on two chairs
Protection: As the robber points the gun at the bank, telling everyone he will kill anyone who moves, Eddie hides his kids behind some chairs
Family: Eddie with his two sons who were at the bank with him when the robber struck. He said the most important thing was to get them out of the line of fire
Video footage shows Mr Peoples in the background telling his sons to go under the chairs for cover and moving large seats in front of them to protect them.
It was at that moment the robber points his gun at the six-year-old, telling the bank: ‘Don’t try anything or the kiddy gets it.’
Robber: Matthew Rogers, 34, a homeless Sarasota man with a criminal history including arrests for burglary, auto theft and reckless driving
According to Mr Peoples, 34, the robber then said to him: ‘You, the big black guy, don’t try anything.’
When the robber escaped with the cash, it was then that Mr Peoples, a ten-year veteran with honed combat skills from his years in Iraq and Kuwait, sprang into action.
He left his sons inside while he jumped in his rented van and blocked the suspect’s dark-coloured Honda in a parking space. The robber rammed the van several times with his car, trying to flee.
He then got out of his car and pointed the gun at the veteran’s head.
Mr People described the moment to CBS saying: ‘I was expecting to hear shots ringing out, but when he put that gun to my face, that’s when my army training kicked in.’
Mr Peoples used his left arm to grab and twist the robber’s arm until the wrist locked, making it easy for him to strip the gun away before using a martial arts move to body slam him to the ground.
He said: ‘I took him to war, I came after him hard and aggressive, it became a battle of who was gonna go.’
He had the gun in one hand and the bag of money in the other and holding the robber to the ground when the deputy showed up.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the robber as Matthew Rogers, 34, a homeless Sarasota man with a criminal history including arrests for burglary, auto theft and reckless driving.
a12iggymom's Blog 