In order to protect her infant son, an Oklahoma woman asked permission from a police dispatcher to shoot intruders if they entered her home before a police car could arrive — and ultimately pulled the trigger.
Eighteen-year-old Sarah McKinley called police as two men were trying to break into her home on New Year’s Eve. One was armed with a 12-inch hunting knife, Good Morning America reported. McKinley, whose husband died of cancer on Christmas day, was at home alone with her baby.
As the men were trying to gain entry to her house, McKinley reportedly “quickly got her 12 gauge, went into her bedroom and got a pistol, put the bottle in the baby’s mouth and called 911.”
She then explained the situation to the dispatcher.
“I’ve got two guns in my hand — is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?” she asked, explaining, “I’m here by myself with my infant baby, can I please get a dispatcher out here immediately?”
“I can’t tell you that you can do that,” said the dispatcher in response to whether McKinley could shoot the intruders, “but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.”
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The police said the shooting was justified.
“You’re allowed to shoot an unauthorized person that is in your home,” said Detective Dan Huff of the Blanchard police force. “The law provides you the remedy, and sanctions the use of deadly force.”
McKinley said she would not have done it if not for her son.
“It’s not an easy decision to make, but it was either going to be him or my son. And it wasn’t going to be my son,” she told ABC News Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO. “There’s nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child.”