7-Eleven Clerk and Mom of 3 Fired After Shooting Customer Who Attacked Her

An Oklahoma 7-Eleven clerk who fought for her life during a terrifying overnight shift was fired days later for using her own gun to defend herself — even though police ruled she acted legally.

Stephanie Dilyard, a 25-year-old mother of three, was working alone just after midnight on Nov. 14 at a 7-Eleven in Oklahoma City when a man tried to buy armfuls of snacks with what she recognized as a fake $100 bill, according to KOKH. When she confronted him, she says he became aggressive and started threatening to kill her.

“He threatened me and said he was going to slice my head off,” Dilyard recalled. As she attempted to call police, the situation escalated fast. She says the man began throwing objects, then rushed behind the counter, grabbed her by the neck, and shoved her out of the work area.

“I tried to run, but he grabbed his hands around my neck,” she said. “That’s when I pulled out my gun and I shot him.”

The suspect, identified as 59-year-old Kenneth Thompson, fled after being shot in the stomach but only made it a few blocks before calling 911. He was taken to a hospital and later charged with assault and battery, threatening acts of violence, attempting to pass counterfeit money, and violating parole on a felony warrant.

Police determined that Dilyard’s use of force was justified under Oklahoma’s stand-your-ground law, which allows deadly force when facing an imminent threat.

Despite being cleared by investigators, Dilyard says she was fired on Nov. 17 for violating company policy by carrying her own firearm. She had worked the overnight shift alone for more than two years.

Still sporting scratches on her neck and burn marks from firing her gun, Dilyard said her only thought during the attack was getting home alive to her children. “I felt like I was put in a corner between choosing my job and my life,” she said. “I’m always going to choose my life because there’s people who depend on me.”

She hopes her experience pushes employers to better protect workers — especially women — and supports anyone who may one day have to choose between following policy or surviving a violent threat. “You have a right to defend yourself,” she said.

Since losing her job, Dilyard has launched a GoFundMe to help support her family, saying she doesn’t regret carrying a weapon when her store offered no security and banned even basic self-defense tools like mace. “I did what I had to do to go home to my kids,” she wrote. “Lose my life, or lose my job — that was the choice.”