A former Oklahoma 7-Eleven clerk has no regrets after defending herself from a violent customer, even though it ended up getting her fired.
Although Oklahoma’s stand-your-ground law cleared Stephanie Dilyard of wrongdoing in the frightening incident in which she shot the enraged customer who tried to use a counterfeit bill, the 25-year-old mother of three was let go from her job for violating company policy.
“He threatened me, and said he was gonna slice my head off, and that’s when I tried to call the police,” recounted Dilyard, who had been working the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift alone for over two years, according to KOKH.
“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 said.
(Video Credit: Fox25)
Kenneth Thompson was identified as the 59-year-old suspect who fled from the scene after being shot, stopping to call 911 a few blocks away.
While Dilyard is reportedly protected under Oklahoma’s self-defense law, 7-Eleven chose to fire her over her act of self-defense.
“They said that they were going to separate from employment because of a violation of policy,” Dilyard said. “This was a situation where I felt like I was put into a corner between choosing between my job and my life, and I’m always going to choose my life because there’s people that depend on me. Just, I’m going, I’m going home, you know. I need to be here for my kids.”
Meanwhile, Thompson was arrested at the hospital and has been 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.
“If I’d known that there’s 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’ll do the same thing,” Dilyard said. “You have a right to defend yourself.”
The former store clerk launched a GoFundMe to help with her family’s expenses while she is searching for another job.
“As many already know, us overnight clerks are by ourselves. We have no security, and we are not allowed to carry self-defense weapons, including mace. However, working conditions, it was not realistic for me to be able to follow policy AND be able to go home to my kids if a situation happened,” she wrote on the crowdfunding page.
“That’s is why I decided to carry in the first place,” Dilyard continued. “I never expected for me to be in this situation, but I did what I had to do to go home to my kids. I was a good employee, committed and determined, but in between a rock and a hard place, I had to make a quick decision—lose my life, or lose my job.”
Dilyard has raised over $27k toward her $35k goal as of this writing.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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