Sarah McKinley, Mother Who Shot and Killed Intruder to Protect Infant Son, Speaks Out in Interview With Shepard Smith

The widow who gained national attention when she shot and killed an intruder to protect her baby spoke out in an interview with Shepard Smith.

Sarah McKinley, an 18 year old mother from Oklahoma whose husband passed away on Christmas Day, was home alone with her three-month-old son on New Year’s Eve when two men showed up at her house, reportedly armed with a hunting knife.

McKinley described the scene to Shep saying she knew that it was imperative that she remain calm. She said, “The biggest thing you cannot do in a situation like that, you cannot panic. You have to hold yourself together and I knew that.

I knew if I screamed, I would give my position away in the house and I wanted to see him first.”

McKinley said that when the intruders first began knocking on the door of her home, she grabbed her 12 gauge gun, pushed a couch in front of the door, and went into a bedroom with her baby. At that point, she says that she grabbed a pistol, worrying that the 12 gauge wouldn’t fire, as she’s only fired it twice before.

Shortly after she called 911 to report the crime, one of the two intruders busted down the door. When he broke into the home, McKinley saw something shiny in his hand, which she believed to be a pistol. It was, in fact, a hunting knife. The intruder closed the door behind him and when he moved as if to come at McKinley, she fired. He fell over the couch, and his accomplice called 911 to report the shooting.

Police have announced that McKinley will not be charged with any crime.

Of the events of the past few weeks, McKinley said “I’m in shock. None of it seems real, but I’m trying to deal with it best I can.”