NASCAR's Richard Childress grabbed a handgun and shot at three suspected home invaders at his residence in North Carolina Sunday night, the Davidson County Sheriff's Office reported, according to ESPN.
The NASCAR team owner, whose drivers once included legendary Dale Earnhardt, was upstairs with his wife about 10:30 p.m., when they heard breaking glass from the first floor, ESPN reported. Childress, 72, said he grabbed his handgun and went downstairs to find three men inside the home, the network said.
Childress told authorities he fired in the direction of the suspects, who had their faces mostly covered, before they escaped, ESPN reported. Police reviewed surveillance video and said that it did not appear anyone was injured.
Childress told police in a statement that the only reason he and his wife were here today was "because of God and the Second Amendment."
Sheriff David Grice said North Carolina's Castle Doctrine states that a person has the right to defend themselves against this type of intrusion, WFMY-TV noted.
Police said Childress has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.
A NASCAR Hall of Famer, Childress built Richard Childress Racing and hired Earnhardt in 1984. By 2001, his team became the first group to win championships in all three of NASCAR's top touring series, according to his biography.
Earnhardt went on to help the racing team become one of the most dominant teams in NASCAR during the 1980s and 1990s, per Childress's site.
In 2015, Childress became second vice president of the National Rifle Association, according to Motorsport.com. Before that, he was a two-term member of the NRA board of directors and served as chair of the NRA's hunting and wildlife conservation committee, Childress Racing told Motorsport.com.
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