SANDFLY, Ga. — An early morning robbery outside a Georgia pub has left 21-year-old Firefighter Wesley Franklin dead. He had been a volunteer firefighter for five years and a member of the Isle of Hope Volunteer Fire Department since 2011.
According to multiple news reports, Franklin was in a pub at 2 a.m. Monday when gunshots were heard outside. Franklin went outside and discovered an armed man robbing two women. The gunman shot Franklin in the chest and fled on foot.
“Wesley was a very dependable and charismatic guy,” Isle of Hope Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Marcus Wilson told Savannah Morning News. “He was always happy — upbeat, always on time to work, reported in every day like he was supposed to. Just a fun guy to be around.”
Wilson told the paper that the department is trying to organize a full-honor burial service, one typically reserved for line-of-duty deaths.
“The brotherhood for the firefighter service is pretty tight,” Wilson told the paper. “It doesn’t matter if you’re volunteered or paid in times like these.”
Police have not yet identified a suspect in Franklin’s killing.