Trending Topics

Ga. battalion chief fatally shot while helping motorist who struck a deer

Coweta County Battalion Chief James Bartholomew Cauthen was killed and two others wounded when a resident fired on the trio during an MVC involving a deer

By Margaret Kates
al.com

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A fire battalion chief from Georgia was killed in a roadside shooting that injured two other people in Chambers County on Sunday night, the sheriff’s office said.

“We lost one of our brothers, leaders, mentor, and family to a senseless tragedy,” the Coweta County Fire Rescue Department posted on Facebook last night.

James Bartholomew Cauthen, 54, was killed Sunday evening, off County Road 267 near U.S. Highway 431 in Stroud, according to a Facebook post from the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said deputies were dispatched around 5 p.m. to deal with a traffic incident involving a deer.

The deputies found three individuals with gunshot wounds. Cauthen was dead by the time officers arrived, police said.

The Chambers County Sheriff said Cauthen had stopped to assist people who had hit a deer while traveling on County Road 267. A nearby resident then shot at Cauthen and the person who hit the deer.

“All individuals were injured during the shootout,” the sheriff’s office Facebook post said.

The shooter has been identified by the sheriff’s office as William Randall Franklin. The individual that struck the deer, as well as Franklin, were transported to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Arrest warrants have been issued for Franklin following his release from the hospital, according to the Facebook post.

Cauthen, who lived in Moreland, Ga., was a battalion chief with the Coweta County Fire Rescue Department.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the Cauthen family as they go through this difficult time,” the fire rescue department said on Facebook.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit al.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Trending
The bipartisan FEMA Review Council, now co-chaired by Kristi Noem and Pete Hegseth, will lead efforts in reforming and streamlining the nation’s emergency response system
While completing fire academy training is a rigorous challenge that’s not for everyone, it’s a necessity if you want to enter the rewarding field of firefighting
IAFF President Ed Kelly says talks with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have heightened attention on saving some firefighter health and safety programs
For the first time in 16 years, the Denver Fire Department will skip a training academy in 2025 as the agency reaches nearly full staffing, with 99.4% of its authorized positions filled