(Daily News) A recently widowed teen mom shot and killed an intruder to protect her  3-month-old son on New Year’s Eve after asking the 911 operator for permission,  local media reported.

Sarah  McKinley, 18, was alone with her son in their Blanchard, Okla., home about 2  p.m. Dec. 31 when two men tried to break in, the  Oklahoman said. McKinley’s husband had just passed away from lung cancer on  Christmas Day.

McKinley grabbed a shotgun, called 911 and begged the operator to send  help.

She stayed on the line for a terrifying 21 minutes and asked the dispatcher  if it was all right to shoot if the men forced their way in.

“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 her, according  to ABC News.

The young mom fired when Justin  Martin, 24, who was wielding a 12-inch knife, kicked his way through the  door.

Police arrived to find Martin lying dead on the sofa McKinley had used to  barricade the front door, according  to Oklahoma’s News 9.

His alleged accomplice, Dustin  Stewart, 29, was arrested and jailed.

“It’s not an easy decision to make, but it was either going to be him or my  son,” McKinley told  local TV station KOCO. “And it wasn’t going to be my son. There’s nothing  more dangerous than a woman with a child.”

Police say that McKinley was justified in taking action against the  intruders once they entered her home.

“The Oklahoma laws are clear on the home and the right to your home are  absolute,” Blanchard Police Detective  Dan Huff told News 9.

Martin had come by McKinley’s house earlier in the day, claiming he was a  neighbor who wanted to say hello. McKinley turned him away.  Investigators are searching Martin’s car for evidence that the home invasion  was premeditated, KFOR-TV  reported.  (article)