An Alabama fire chief has been shot and killed after he stopped to help a driver who had hit a deer with their vehicle, police said.
The incident occurred around 5 p.m. Sunday when Chambers County, Alabama deputies were dispatched to County Road 267 near US 431 in Stroud — located about 100 miles northeast of Montgomery — and found three people suffering from gunshot wounds upon their arrival, according to a statement from the Chambers County Alabama Sheriff’s Office released Monday.
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.
“Early investigation indicates that Chief Cauthen was attempting to assist individuals who had struck a deer while traveling on County Road 267,” police said. “Another individual (William Randall Franklin) who was in the area opened fire on Chief Cauthen and the individual who hit the deer. All individuals were injured during the shootout. Chief Cauthen succumbed to his injuries before deputies arrived on scene .”
Police did not immediately say why Franklin might have opened fire on Cauthen and the unnamed person who struck the deer with their car, but they said Cauthen was a battalion fire chief with Coweta County Fire.
“At this time, investigators are working to piece together the events that led to this horrific scene,” the Chambers County Alabama Sheriff’s Office said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to Coweta County for his loss.”
An Alabama fire chief has been shot and killed after he stopped to help a driver who had hit a deer with their vehicle, police said.
Facebook / Coweta County Fire Rescue
A warrant for murder was issued for Franklin, and police said he will be arrested after his release from treatment at Piedmont Medical Center.
“Coweta County Fire Rescue continues to be devastated by the tragic 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 more than 24 years. He was a great, hard working man with a gentle soul. Like many of you, we have many questions as we navigate through 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 regarding 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.