Georgia Fire Chief James “Bart” Cauthen was fatally shot on January 19 after stopping to help a couple who hit a deer in rural Alabama. Authorities allege William Franklin opened fire unprovoked as Cauthen and the driver sought help. Franklin faces murder charges while investigators piece together the tragic events.

A Georgia fire chief was fatally shot in what authorities describe as an unprovoked attack after he stopped to assist a couple whose car had struck a deer along a rural road in Alabama.

According to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Department, James Bartholomew “Bart” Cauthen, 54, was traveling back to his home in Georgia on the evening of January 19 when he noticed a car pulled over on County Road 267. The vehicle had apparently collided with a deer, prompting the driver and his wife to pull to the roadside.

Cauthen, a battalion chief with Coweta County Fire Rescue, owned property nearby. With limited cellphone service in the remote area, he and the male driver approached a nearby house seeking additional help. Authorities say William Randall Franklin, 33—who lived at that home—allegedly opened fire “without warning.” The car’s driver also had a firearm, and what authorities called a “shootout” ensued.

Cauthen was struck by gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene. The unnamed driver and Franklin both suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to separate trauma centers for treatment; both are expected to survive. The driver’s wife, who stayed in the vehicle, was unharmed.

Investigators arrested Franklin the following day, after he was treated and released from Piedmont Columbus Regional hospital in Columbus, Georgia. He was then booked into the Muscogee County Jail. Franklin faces a murder charge and is expected to be extradited to Chambers County, Alabama.

Cauthen’s colleagues at Coweta County Fire Rescue paid tribute to him on Facebook, calling the fallen battalion chief “an amazing, hard-working man with a gentle soul.”

Neighbors interviewed by local station WBRL described Franklin as a “paranoid schizophrenic,” though police have not confirmed that diagnosis. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities say they are still piecing together the exact sequence of events leading up to the fatal shooting.
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