7-Eleven Clerk Fired After Using Gun in Self-Defense, Told to Use Store Items Instead
A 25-year-old 7-Eleven clerk who shot a man allegedly trying to strangle her during a late-night shift was terminated by her employer for violating company policy by using her own firearm in self-defense.
The incident took place just before midnight last Thursday. Stephanie Dilyard was working alone when a customer attempted to pay for burritos, beef sticks, and ice cream with a counterfeit $100 bill. When she refused the transaction, the situation quickly escalated.
“He threatened me and said he was going to slice my head off,” Dilyard recounted. As she tried to call police, the suspect began throwing items and then 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. That’s when I pulled out my gun and I shot him.”
The suspect, 59-year-old Kenneth Thompson, fled to a nearby intersection and called 911. He was later arrested at the hospital and charged with assault and battery, threatening acts of violence, attempting to pass a counterfeit bill, and a felony warrant for violating parole.
Dilyard’s use of force was deemed lawful under Oklahoma’s self-defense statutes. However, she was terminated the following Monday for violating 7-Eleven’s weapons policy, which prohibits employees from possessing firearms on company property. According to the company’s employee handbook, even legally owned firearms are forbidden and may not be stored in personal vehicles parked on company property.
Dilyard said she was told by human resources that instead of using her firearm, she was expected to defend herself with items available in the store. While no specific items were suggested, the policy left some wondering what she was realistically supposed to use—one could only imagine trying to fend off an attacker with a burrito, beef stick, or ice cream bar, the very items Thompson had tried to buy with the fake bill.
The incident took place just before midnight last Thursday. Stephanie Dilyard was working alone when a customer attempted to pay for burritos, beef sticks, and ice cream with a counterfeit $100 bill. When she refused the transaction, the situation quickly escalated.
“He threatened me and said he was going to slice my head off,” Dilyard recounted. As she tried to call police, the suspect began throwing items and then 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. That’s when I pulled out my gun and I shot him.”
The suspect, 59-year-old Kenneth Thompson, fled to a nearby intersection and called 911. He was later arrested at the hospital and charged with assault and battery, threatening acts of violence, attempting to pass a counterfeit bill, and a felony warrant for violating parole.
Dilyard’s use of force was deemed lawful under Oklahoma’s self-defense statutes. However, she was terminated the following Monday for violating 7-Eleven’s weapons policy, which prohibits employees from possessing firearms on company property. According to the company’s employee handbook, even legally owned firearms are forbidden and may not be stored in personal vehicles parked on company property.
Dilyard said she was told by human resources that instead of using her firearm, she was expected to defend herself with items available in the store. While no specific items were suggested, the policy left some wondering what she was realistically supposed to use—one could only imagine trying to fend off an attacker with a burrito, beef stick, or ice cream bar, the very items Thompson had tried to buy with the fake bill.
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