Minister foils Orange church break-in, shoots out tire on fleeing suspect's car

Rev. Austin Brown, pastor of Five Forks Baptist Church, at 7500 N.C. Highway 86 in Hillsborough, was studying in the church at about 3 p.m. when someone tried to break in, authorities said. Brown said that, when he saw the man in the church, he pulled out his gun and fired a shot at him. He then fired several more rounds at the fleeing man's car.

As Orange County deputies searched the area, Sgt. Brandon Lassiter came upon Cory Vondell Bradshaw a few miles away with a spare tire in hand. Authorities said Bradshaw was forced to pull over because one of his tires was left flat by Brown's gunshots, and Bradshaw had attempted to hide the car at an abandoned golf course on McDade Store Road until he could change the tire.

Bradshaw dropped the tire and fled on foot when Lassiter confronted him, but he was apprehended at about 5 p.m. following a search of the woods in the Cedar Grove community.

Bradshaw, whose last known address was 3135 Callaway Drive in Mebane, was charged with felony breaking and entering and attempted larceny.

Brown said he moved back to the Triangle about a year ago from Alabama. He has carried a handgun for years – he had a concealed carry license in Alabama and took the class for a North Carolina permit a few months ago, he said – and said he wasn't armed as a result of recent church shootings.