A former clerk was allegedly fired from her job at an Oklahoma 7-Eleven after she shot a customer who purportedly presented a counterfeit bill and threatened her.
Stephanie Dilyard was working Thursday at 7-Eleven when a man allegedly attempted to make a purchase using a counterfeit $100 bill, according to local outlet KOKH. When Dilyard refused to accept the counterfeit bill, she claims the man tried to strangle her.
Dilyard recounted the incident to KOKH.
“He threatened me, and said he was gonna slice my head off, and that’s when I tried to call the police. He started throwing things at me, came behind the counter. 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 explained.
Dilyard had been working alone from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. at 7-Eleven for two years, KOKH reported. She sustained a scratch on her neck and burn marks on her finger from firing her gun as a result of the incident. (RELATED: Mother Finds Alligator In Son’s Bedroom Just Days After His Death)
The suspect, Kenneth Thompson, 59, fled the scene and called 911. He was arrested at the hospital and charged with assault and battery, threatening acts of violence, attempting to pass a fake bill, and a felony warrant for violating parole, according to KOKH.
While Dilyard is protected under Oklahoma’s self-defense law, she was allegedly terminated from 7-Eleven for violating their policy by using her own gun.
“They said that they were going to separate from employment because of a violation of policy,” Dilyard told the outlet.
Dilyard said she felt she was put in a position where she was asked to choose between her life and her job, and she chose her life because her children depend on her. Dilyard, 25, is a mom of three, according to the New York Post.
She also said people have a right to defend themselves when their lives are being threatened.
“If I’ve known that there’s a potential that somebody is for real on taking my life away [then] I will do whatever it takes, and I hope that women see that, and they’ll do the same thing. You have a right to defend yourself,” Dilyard told KOKH.
A GoFundMe fundraiser created to support Dilyard has raised over $29,000 as of writing.
The Daily Caller contacted 7-Eleven but has not heard back as of publication.