“There’s nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child.”
I love that.
If you are a mom in any capacity–biological, step, adoptive, or otherwise–that quote is likely to resonate with you in ways that are hard to articulate.
Incredibly, the words were uttered by a mom of just three months, who just happens to be… 18 years old.
Who says all teen moms are like the ones portrayed on MTV?
Sarah McKinley is turning the teen mom stereotype on its head, thanks in large part to the courage she showed on New Year’s Eve.
Courage and quick thinking which likely saved her life and that of her infant son.
You may not recognize Sarah’s name, but you most certainly have heard of the bravery she displayed to protect her child.
Sarah is the Oklahoma mom, who shot and killed an intruder, when he kicked down the front door of her home while brandishing a 12-inch knife.
According to news reports, when the teen mom first saw the intruder outside of her Blanchard, Oklahoma, home she pushed a couch against the front door, then she called 911 and begged the dispatcher to send help.
When the man started forcing his way in, Sarah grabbed a shotgun and asked the 911 operator for permission to shoot.
“I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby,” the dispatcher told the young mom, according to ABC News.
According to the police report, Sarah held her 3-month-old son with one arm and used the other to fire a shot into 24-year-old Justin Martin as he kicked his way through McKinley’s front door.
In the end, Martin died from the gunshot wound, and Sarah gave local TV station KOCO a soundbite that has tugged at the heartstrings of parents the world over:
“It’s not an easy decision to make, but it was either going to be him or my son,” McKinley said. “And it wasn’t going to be my son. There’s nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child.”
Did I mention this entire ordeal went down just hours after Sarah had returned from burying her husband, who died of lung cancer on Christmas Day?
Granted, there has been debate between pro-gun and anti-gun advocates following Sarah’s incident, but regardless of where you stand on the issue, you have to consider the big picture.
An 18-year-old new mom with an infant loses her husband on Christmas Day, buries him a week later, comes back to an empty home, and then two hours later is forced to shoot a man dead as he kicks down her front door, all while holding her baby.
How many teen moms do you know who have faced such extreme circumstances?