An Alabama fire chief has been shot and killed after stopping to help a driver who hit a deer with his vehicle, police said.
The incident happened at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, when deputies from Chambers County, Alabama, were dispatched to County Road 267 near US 431 in Stroud — about 100 miles northeast of Montgomery — and upon arrival found three people shot. According to a statement released Monday by the Chambers County Alabama Sheriff’s Office.
One of the shooting victims — identified as 54-year-old James Bartholomew Cauthen of Moreland, Georgia — was dead when authorities arrived. The other two were taken by helicopter to LaGrange and Columbus trauma centers, police said.
“Investigations indicate that Chief Cauthen was on Route 267 trying to help people who had hit a deer,” police said. “Another resident of the area (William Randall Franklin) shot Chief Cauthen and the individual who struck the deer. All individuals were injured in the shooting. Chief Cauthen succumbed to his injuries before deputies arrived on scene.”
Police did not immediately say why Franklin might have fired at Cauthen and the unnamed person who hit the deer with his car, but said Cauthen was a battalion chief firefighter with Coweta County Fire.
“At this time, investigators are working to piece together the events that led to this horrific scene,” said the Chambers County Alabama Sheriff’s Office. “Our hearts and prayers go out to Coweta County for his loss.”
An Alabama fire chief has been shot and killed after stopping to help a driver who hit a deer with his vehicle, police said.
Facebook / Coweta County Fire Rescue
An arrest warrant was issued for Franklin for murder, and police said he will be arrested upon his release from treatment at Piedmont Medical Center.
“Coweta County Fire Rescue remains devastated by the passing of Battalion Chief Bart Cauthen,” Coweta Fire and Rescue said in a statement following Cauthen’s death. “Cauthen has been in our department for over 24 years. He was an amazing, hardworking man with a gentle soul. Like many of you, we have many questions as we navigate this terrible tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to Cauthen’s family, friends and our brothers and sisters in the Fire Rescue family who worked closely with him.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Division of the Chambers County Alabama Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation into the shooting remains open at this time.
