How could it not? A recently widowed 18-year-old mother in Blanchard shot a man dead after he broke into her house.

On
New Year’s Eve, Sarah McKinley called 911 after a Blanchard man, Justin
Shane Martin, allegedly tried breaking down the front door. McKinley,
who was in the trailer home with her 3-month-old son, had used a couch
to barricade the door.

Two
days earlier, McKinley’s 58-year-old husband had been buried after
dying of cancer. To pay for the funeral, she sold many of the man’s
possessions. One item she kept was a 12-gauge shotgun.

When
McKinley asked 911 if she should shoot the man trying to get in, the
dispatcher said, “I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you have to
do what you have to do to protect your baby.”

It took a single shotgun blast for McKinley to kill Martin, who was armed with a hunting knife, once he got through the door.

An alleged accomplice of Martin’s later told police they were breaking in to steal painkillers.

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