What Would You Do If Cops Were 20 Minutes Away?

More than 20 minutes.

Sarah McKinley was 18 years old in 2011. Her husband, Kenneth, had recently died from cancer, and she was left with a baby son in the outback of Oklahoma. Two guys who were armed, were trying to break in on New Year's Eve.

This is the Colion Noir video Armed 18-Year-Old Mother Holding A Baby Shoots Intruders

That's it right there. That's the Second Amendment. Not in some abstract legal argument. Not in a debate stage soundbite. Not in a history book. It's an 18-year-old widow left with nothing but grief, a baby, and forced to face down two armed men by herself. And the only reason she lived to tell the story and her son grew up with a mother is because she had the means to fight back.

The video is eight and a half minutes long. There is a news story below the embedded video.

Here is a news story from that time. The Story of Sarah McKinley: The 18-Year-Old Who Killed an Armed Intruder to Protect Her Child

On New Year’s Eve, 2011, Sarah was at home with her baby when she heard someone knocking on her door. She looked through the peephole and saw a man she did not recognize. She said he claimed to be a neighbor who needed help, but she did not believe him.

She said he had a suspicious look on his face and she felt uneasy. She did not open the door and told him to go away. But instead of leaving the premises, he went to the back door and tried to break in, and even threatened to kill her, “Let me in, or I’ll kill you,” he thundered from the backdoor.

It took about 20 minutes for the intruder to break in the door. She shot him with the shotgun she had armed herself with.

The police arrived shortly after Sarah shot the intruder and found him dead on the floor. He was identified as Justin Martin, 24, who had a criminal record and was holding a 12-inch hunting knife when he died. He had an accomplice, a 29-year-old man, Dustin Stewart, who had fled the scene when he heard the gunshot. He was later driven to the police station by his parents.

Oklahoma has The Castle Doctrine, which means you can defend yourself in your own home. Sarah's shooting was deemed Justified.

The second guy, Dustin Stewart, was sentenced to life in prison. He admitted that they targeted Sarah because they knew her husband had died, and they thought she probably still had the painkillers he used for his cancer.

Notice 2 things. She called 911. Cops did not save the day. They showed up after the fact and dealt with the aftermath. In this case it was a dead bad guy and not a dead mother and child. The other thing is that 911 operators, even in a place like Oklahoma, which recognizes your right to defend yourself, cannot tell you what you can legally do. Not their job. (That would be practicing law without a license.) You need to know what you can do.

At least the ending was as good as it could be. The news story contains an interview with Sarah MicKinley, which I found interesting.