Oklahoma 7-Eleven clerk, mom of 3, fired after shooting customer who attacked her: I need to be here for my kids

A brave Oklahoma 7-Eleven clerk was fired for shooting a customer, who tried to strangle her and threatened to “slice her head off” — because she used her own gun, violating the convenience store’s policy.Stephanie Dilyard, 25, said she was working alone at the Oklahoma City 7-Eleven just after midnight on Nov.14 when a man came in and tried to pay for a trove of junk food with a counterfeit $100 bill, KOKH reported.

The mother of three said that when she called the man out on the bill being bogus, he began threatening her and became erratic.“He threatened me, and said he was gonna slice my head off, and that’s when I tried to call the police,” she recalled.Dilyard said the brute started hurling objects at her before he rushed behind the counter and put his hands on her.

“I tried to run off, but he grabbed his hands around my neck, and pushed me out of the counter space, and that’s when I pulled out my gun and I shot him,” she said.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.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.Investigators ruled that Dilyard’s actions were justified under Oklahoma’s stand-your-ground law, which allows people to use deadly force when confronting an imminent threat of death or serious harm.

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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.

“They said that they were going to separate from employment because of a ...