Nebraska Army veteran pulls gun to stop jewelry heist, suspect flees with hands up

A level-headed Army veteran thwarted a would-be thief’s attempt to rob his Omaha jewelry store by brandishing his handgun and sending the suspect running. 

Surveillance footage captured inside Sidrony Jewelers last Saturday shows a black-clad robber smashing one of the store’s glass windows to let himself inside. 

The criminal didn’t anticipate that anyone would be inside – let alone that they would be military-trained. 

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U.S. Army veteran Garrett Peddicord pulled his weapon and chased away someone who had broken into an Omaha, Nebraska, jewelry store on May 4. (Garrett Peddicord via Storyful)

Another camera captures the store’s owner, Garrett Peddicord, entering from a back room, leveling a pistol at the other person. 

“I typically carry a firearm on my waist, even after hours,” Peddicord told KETV. “It’s just one of those things: keys, wallet, firearm.”

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The would-be jewel thief, who Omaha Police have not yet apprehended, fled Sidrony Jewelers with his hands up. (Garrett Peddicord via Storyful)

Peddicord said the thief was “almost comically holding the tool over the glass” when they locked eyes.

“Hey motherf*****!” Peddicord shouted, sending the intruder scrambling. 

Seeing the gun, the masked man raises his arms and turns tail and runs, panicked, back through the broken window. 

The owner foiled the robber’s attempt in under two minutes, the video shows. 

Peddicord was proud that he was able to defend his business, telling KETV that he would have been ready to do so even without his gun. 

“My use of one is the same as any of the other tools I have back here,” he told the station, gesturing toward a table of drills, cutters and pliers. 

“They all serve a purpose. But this,” he said, referring to the pistol,” is the one tool that I hope to never have to use.” 

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Peddicord appeared calm and collected throughout the encounter and attributed his quick response to his military training. (Garrett Peddicord via Storyful)

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Peddicord, who spent three years deployed in Afghanistan, said he “thank[ed his] lucky stars that [he] put so much thought and time and repetitive training and practice into how to responsibly carry a firearm.” 

A Public Information Officer with the Omaha Police Department told Fox News Digital that the suspect has not yet been identified or arrested.