Crime & Courts - US
Teen Mom Still Rattled by Home Invasion Nearly Week After Shooting, Killing Intruder
Published January 06, 2012
| FoxNews.com
BLANCHARD, Okla. – The teenage mother who shot and killed an intruder on New Year's Eve after asking a 911 dispatcher for permission told Fox News on Friday that she still somewhat in shock over the ordeal.
"None of it seems real," Sarah McKinley, 18, told Fox News' Shepard Smith.
McKinley, a recently widowed Oklahoma woman who was home alone with her 3-month-old son at the time, said she focused on every little detail and noise while she was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher as the suspect broke into her home. "It helped me to stay calm," she said.
The Practical Buddhist Responds
Sarah McKinley, 18, watched her husband die of lung cancer and buried him with her three-month old baby in her arms. A week later she was victim of a home invasion. She heard someone trying to get in, called 911, and located her gun. She asked permission to shoot if the intruders broke in. When they crashed through the door, she shot and killed one. She protected her baby and herself.
A strong argument for weak gun laws? An emotional proof case to show that the First Precept is outmoded and the Second Amendment should apply to all? If Sarah had no guns, what would the outcome have been? The intruders were looking for prescription drugs. Would they have hurt her or the baby? Would they have fled when they saw the home was occupied? Even if Sarah was armed, would they have continued into a home with a shotgun pointed at them? Was she right to pull the trigger? Not, as Thai friends say, up to me.
Sara was an 18 year old new widow with a tiny baby. She is still traumatized by the event. She deserves all compassion and support. She was the victim of a crime. She acted as most would. She will almost certainly be found guiltless under the law. But don't make her a hero. She is a survivor who made the best decision she could at the time.
