Sarah McKinley, from Blanchard, Oklahoma, was 18 years old when her husband died from cancer on Christmas Day 2012, leaving her a widow and a single mother to a three-month-old baby. On New Year’s Eve, Sarah and her son were home alone when two men showed up at the door, one carrying a 12-inch hunting knife. As Sarah stood behind the door, the men started trying to break in. One of the men went door to door, and Sarah grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol while calling 911.
She said: “I’ve got two guns in my hand. Is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door? I’m here by myself with my baby. Can I please get a dispatcher out here immediately?” The 911 operator replied: “You have to do whatever you can to protect yourself. I can’t tell you that you can do that, but do what you need to protect your baby.”
The 911 operator later said it was clear Sarah was terrified. She was whispering so the intruder wouldn’t know she had called 911. The operator asked: “Do you have a car alarm you can set off to scare him?” But Sarah didn’t have one. All she had to protect herself and her baby were her guns.