The mother of three said that when she called the man out on the bill being bogus, he began threatening her and became erratic.<\/p>\n
![\"Stephanie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-23-at-114606\u202fPM.jpg\")
Stephanie Dilyard was fired for shooting a deranged customer who attacked her while working alone overnight at 7-Eleven. KOKH Fox 25<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened me, and said he was gonna slice my head off, and that\u2019s when I tried to call the police,\u201d she recalled. <\/p>\n
Dilyard said the brute started hurling objects at her before he rushed behind the counter and put his hands on her. <\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to run off, but he grabbed his hands around my neck, and pushed me out of the counter space, and that\u2019s when I pulled out my gun and I shot him,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The suspect, Kenneth Thompson, fled the store after he was shot in the stomach. The 59-year-old made it a few blocks away from the 7-Eleven before calling 911. <\/p>\n
The alleged violent fraudster was taken into custody at the hospital and charged with assault and battery, threatening acts of violence, attempting to pass counterfeit currency, and violating parole on an outstanding felony warrant.<\/p>\n
Investigators ruled that Dilyard\u2019s actions were justified under Oklahoma\u2019s stand-your-ground law, which allows people to use deadly force when confronting an imminent threat of death or serious harm.<\/p>\n
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While authorities have cleared the 25-year-old mom, her employer fired her just days after the frightening ordeal on Nov. 17. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey said that they were going to separate from employment because of a violation of policy,\u201d Dilyard, who had been working the overnight shift alone from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for more than two years, said. <\/p>\n
Dilyard, who still had a scratch on her neck and burn marks on her finger from firing the gun, told the outlet that all she cared about when she was getting attacked was getting home to her kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a situation where I felt like I was put into a corner between choosing between my job, and my life, and I\u2019m always going to choose my life because there\u2019s people that depend on me. Just, I\u2019m going, I\u2019m going home, you know. I need to be here for my kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-23-at-115745\u202fPM.jpg\")
Investigators ruled that Dilyard\u2019s actions were justified under Oklahoma\u2019s stand-your-ground law, which allows people to use deadly force when confronting an imminent threat of death or serious harm. KOKH Fox 25<\/p>\n
She hopes what she endured will drive changes that better protect clerks \u2014 especially women \u2014 and ensure they aren\u2019t afraid to defend themselves when facing a life-or-death threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019ve known that there\u2019s a potential that somebody is for real on taking my life away that I will do whatever it takes, and I hope that women see that, and they\u2019ll do the same thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a right to defend yourself.\u201d <\/p>\n