On a late summer evening in rural Pulaski County, the quiet was shattered by an act of violence that left two men dead and a community searching for answers. On September 2, 2019, 46-year-old Alton Douglas Bullington, a white male from Vienna, Georgia, was found deceased inside a residence on Burnt Bridge Road, not far from the Dooly-Pulaski County line. The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office was called to the scene around 7:30 p.m.
and, upon their arrival, discovered the bodies of Bullington and another man, 40-year-old Justin Smith of Hawkinsville. Both men had suffered fatal single gunshot wounds.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was requested to assist in the death investigation. Their inquiry, aided by the crucial account of a third-party witness to the shootings, soon pieced together the tragic sequence of events. Investigators determined that Justin Smith shot and killed Alton Bullington before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide. Autopsies performed at the GBI Crime Lab in Macon later confirmed that both deaths were the result of single gunshot wounds, which was consistent with the findings of the investigation.
While the investigation established the what and how of the incident, the why remained elusive. Authorities learned that Bullington and Smith were not strangers, having been acquainted through a mutual friend. However, the specific motive that led to the deadly confrontation was never made clear. With the perpetrator deceased, no arrests were made in the case. The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have encouraged anyone with additional information to come forward. The incident left friends and family to mourn the loss of Alton Bullington, a man known for his passion for fixing things, playing his guitar, and spending time with his loved ones.
