It was New Year’s Eve, 2011, when 18-year-old Sarah McKinley, a young mother from Blanchard, Oklahoma, faced a nightmare that would test her courage — and redefine what self-defense means in America.
Just weeks earlier, Sarah had buried her husband, who died of cancer, leaving her to care for their three-month-old baby alone. But that night, her grief turned to fear when she saw two men outside her mobile home — one carrying a 12-inch hunting knife.
They were Justin Martin and Dustin Louis Stewart, reportedly looking for the prescription painkillers left behind after her husband’s illness.
Sarah did what any terrified mother might do: she called 911.
On the recorded call, her trembling voice can be heard asking,
“I’ve got two guns in my hand — is it okay to shoot him if he comes in my door?”
The dispatcher’s calm but chilling reply:
“I can’t tell you to do that — but you have to do whatever you need to protect yourself.”
Moments later, Martin forced the door open. Sarah didn’t hesitate.
She fired once with her .12-gauge shotgun, killing him instantly before he could reach her baby’s room.
When police arrived, they confirmed she had acted in lawful self-defense under Oklahoma’s “castle doctrine”, which allows residents to use deadly force against intruders.
McKinley told reporters afterward:
“It was either going to be him or my baby. I didn’t have a choice — and I’d do it again if I had to.”
Authorities later charged Dustin Stewart, Martin’s accomplice, with first-degree murder under felony murder laws — since a death occurred during the commission of a felony burglary.
Sarah McKinley’s story struck a nerve across America. Some called her a hero, others a tragic symbol of a nation forced to defend itself with guns. But to Sarah, it was simple:
She was a mother — and mothers protect their children.