INSIDE EDITION talks to the hero dad who protected his young sons from an armed bank robber, but his heroics didn’t stop there.
You won't believe the plan that Army Staff Sergeant Eddie Peoples came up with to protect his beloved sons from an armed bank robber.
Peoples had just gotten home from duty in Iraq and was eager to spend time with his family in Sarasota, Florida. He stopped by a local bank with his two young sons and suddenly, a man appeared waving a gun!
"It was dead quiet. Everybody was in shock," said Peoples.
It was all caught on tape. Peoples told INSIDE EDITION's Diane McInerney exactly what happened.
Peoples explained how the robber made his demands in a cool and calculated manner, telling people not to move. Peoples stood protectively in front of his sons.
"What was your main concern?" asked McInerney.
"My main concern was my two boys. I placed them under the chairs because I didn't want that guy shooting with my children in the line of fire," said Peoples. "Once I got them under the chairs, I moved two more chairs in front of them. I put my hands on my hips so he can see where my hands are."
That's when the gunman said something he would come to regret.
"He made a threat to my older son that if anyone did anything, the kid would get it," said Peoples.
The bank robber took the money and ran. Was this the end of the story? Far from it.
McInerney asked, "Did you go after him?"
"Yeah, got to! It was the thing I had to do," said Peoples.
The robber fled, but Peoples was in hot pursuit. A car chase ended when Peoples blocked the robber's getaway car in the parking lot. Then, the robber pointed the gun right at his face.
"The robber had a gun to your head. What do you do?" asked McInerney.
"I strip the gun out of his hand. I take him and slam him down to the ground," explained Peoples.
He held the suspect until cops arrived. The robber was identified as Matthew Rogers, a homeless man with a criminal history. His gun was a fake, but nobody knew it at the time.
Peoples's wife, Abra, is pleased but not surprised by her husband's heroics.
"He has good judgment and he's very capable," said Abra.
McInerney noted, "You're a decorated war hero."
"Yeah, he picked the wrong person to mess with," said Peoples.
