Fortunately for a jewelry store in Omaha, Nebraska, the store’s owner, an armed veteran, was around and able to stop an attempted heist when robbers showed up at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, and tried to swipe the store’s inventory after shattering the front glass.
According to outlet KETV, that owner is Garrett Peddicord. He was inside his shop, Sidrony Jewelers, late at night when he heard the front glass of the shop shatter, and a thief jumped into the store after having broken the glass with a thrown rock. Peddicord was armed and ready, however, and able to respond quickly after he saw the thief’s entry on his store’s security monitors.
Mr. Peddicord, who also opened a firearm store called Athena Arms, KETV reports, is a veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan for three years. Though he was never in combat in the country, Mr. Peddicord says that the training he received came in handy during the attempted robbery of Sidrony Jewelers late in the night on May 4.
Describing his quick reaction to the attempted robbery, Mr. Peddicord says that, after witnessing the attempted break-in, he jumped up out of his chair and shouted, after drawing his firearm, “Hey [expletive]!” According to him, that angry admonishment, when paired with the drawn weapon, was enough to send the attempted robber scrambling out of Sidrony Jewelers through the recently smashed window.
Commenting on how his training helped him in the situation, Mr. Peddicord noted that his repeated practice at responsibly carrying and using a firearm was critical when he responded to the attempted robbery. He said, “Thank my lucky stars that I put so much thought and time and repetitive training and practice into how to responsibly carry a firearm.”
Mr. Peddicord also said, speaking to KETV, that he routinely carries a weapon, just in case he needs it, starpping it to his waist in the same routine way that he carries his keys and wallet. He said, “I typically carry a firearm on my waist, even after hours. It’s just one of those things: keys, wallet, firearm.” Because of that routine, he had his firearm with him when it came in very handy.
The New York Post, reporting on the incident, told a similar tale to KETV. It noted that surveillance footage from that night shows the attempted burglar hurl a rock through the jewelry store’s window, then, clad completely in black, crawl into the shop through the broken glass left by the rock. But then, rather than being left alone amongst the store’s treasures, the burglar is scared off by Peddicord, who emerges and screams, “Hey motherf–ker!” The burglar, sent scrambling, then flees as quickly as he is able.
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The security camera footage of the incident was recently released. Watch it here:
As can be seen in the footage, Peddicord storms out and catches the attempted burglar standing over the jewelry case almost cartoonishly holding a tool above it, ready to try to swipe the contents within, but fortunately was stopped by the owner before he could do so.