Kentucky State Police said the Letcher County sheriff has been charged with first-degree murder.
A district judge in Kentucky was fatally shot in the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg on Thursday, Kentucky State Police said. A local sheriff has been charged in relation to the shooting.
State police received a 911 call about shots being fired inside the Letcher County Courthouse just before 3 p.m. on Thursday.
“Several law enforcement agencies and emergency medical services responded to the scene and located District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, of Jackhorn, with multiple gunshot wounds,” Kentucky State Police spokesperson Sherry Bray said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.
First responders attempted lifesaving measures, but Mullins was pronounced dead at the scene by the Letcher County Coroner’s Office.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, of McRoberts, fatally shot Mullins following an argument inside the courthouse,” Bray said.
Local media, The Mountain Eagle, reported that Stines emerged from the judge’s private office with his hands up.
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He was taken into custody without incident and charged with one count of first-degree murder, police said.
Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper is investigating.
The Mountain Eagle reported that Stines entered the courthouse, told court