

Coweta County Battalion Fire Chief James ‘Bart’ Bartholomew Cauthen shot dead along with driver he had stopped to assist, injured, after William Randall Franklin, Alabama homeowner shoots at the pair as they sought help after driver hitting deer.
A fire chief was fatally shot along with a man he had sought to assist shot at, after they had walked along a road and towards the driveway of a home moments after the fire chief stopping to assist the man and his wife who had struck a deer with their car in rural Alabama.
Coweta County Battalion Fire Chief James ‘Bart’ Bartholomew Cauthen was found dead and two others injured, including the suspect, with gunshot wounds in the Stroud neighborhood at around 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, the Chambers County Alabama Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Police were responding to a traffic accident involving a deer when they found the three gun casualties.
‘Early investigation indicates that Chief Cauthen was attempting to assist individuals that had struck a deer while traveling on County Road 267,’ the sheriff’s office said.
Police say, local resident, William Randall Franklin allegedly ‘opened fire on Chief Cauthen and the individuals that struck the deer,’ killing the fire chief and injuring the husband as the two men made their way along the road as the man’s wife remained in the vehicle.
Investigators believe that Cauthen had stopped to help the stranded husband and wife after noticing their damaged vehicle and injured deer when leaving his nearby property, WRBL reported.
‘The fire chief and the driver, unable to call for help due to poor cell phone service in the remote area, decided to walk to the nearby home to ask for assistance,’ Chambers County Chief Deputy Mike Parrish told the outlet.
Investigators allege that Franklin, 33, shot at Cauthen and the driver ‘without warning’ as they ‘approached the driveway’ of the man’s home. The driver was also armed and returned fire, injuring Franklin, according to WRBL.

‘Chief Cauthen attempted to cross the street but collapsed in a ditch and succumbed to his injuries before deputies arrived,’ WRBL reported.
The driver, despite being injured, is expected to recover. The driver’s wife never left the car was uninjured during the shootout. Franklin is expected to survive and will face a murder charge upon his release from Piedmont Medical Center.
The unidentified driver of the vehicle was taken to a trauma center in LaGrange for treatment.
To date it remained unclear why Franklin opened fire on the fire chief and the driver as they walked along the road and towards his driveway.
‘A deer wreck…you pull up and three people are shot – it just don’t make sense any way you look at it,‘ Parrish told WTVM. ‘We just really didn’t know what happened. It was just bizarre.’
‘At this time, investigators are working to piece together the events that led to this horrific scene,’ Chambers County Alabama Sheriff’s Office said. ‘Our hearts and prayers go out to Coweta County for his loss.’
Police are asking anyone with information relating to this case to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at (334)864-4333.