Colleagues Honor Georgia Fire Chief Who Was Shot And Killed Helping Stranded Couple That Hit A Deer

Never leave a fallen comrade behind. The Coweta County Fire Rescue traveled to Alabama to escort the body of slain Georgia Fire Chief Bart Cauthen back home.

Cauthen died after being shot while helping a stranded couple who hit a deer in Alabama. It's a bizarre and tragic series of events. Cauthen was known for being a staple in his community. He had been in Alabama at the time when he noticed two people stranded on the roadway. The couple had hit a deer. The fire chief and the stranded driver decided to try to get help at a nearby house. That's when the homeowner opened fire on the two, killing Cauthen and injuring the driver.

"Coweta Fire Rescue was blessed with love from all the citizens, communities, and public safety agencies bring Battalion Chief Bart Cauthen home to Coweta today," the department wrote.

Fire Chief Shot And Killed

Authorities still aren't sure why the homeowner, William Randall Franklin, decided to shoot the two. However, one of the two ended up shooting Franklin back in response to the sudden burst of violence. Sadly, the fire chief died at the scene. Franklin, after being treated, was transported to jail. The family plans to hold a funeral for Cauthen on Tuesday at Unity Baptist Church at 311 Smokey Road in Newnan.
Following his tragic passing, the fire department remembered their fire chief in a moving statement.

"He was an amazing, hard-working man with a gentle soul," the fire department said in a statement. "Just like many of you, we have many questions as we navigate through this horrible 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."

They continued, "We want to thank all of the agencies who have reached out to us to offer condolences, as well as our community. Coweta County is always there to support our agency, we will get through this together. At this time, we do not have further details outside of what was released from the Chambers County Sheriff's Office nor have funeral arrangements been made. We will share updates as they become available."

Colleagues Honor Georgia Fire Chief Who Was Shot And Killed Helping Stranded Couple That Hit A Deer

Fire Chief Shot And Killed

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