Police: Sheriff in Kentucky shoots judge in courtroom

WHITESBURG, Kentucky — A county sheriff has been charged with murder after he shot a judge during an argument in the judge's chambers on Thursday, according to police.

Kentucky State Police said in a news release that Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, of McRoberts, Kentucky, was taken into custody without incident at the Letcher County Courthouse after the shooting. District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, of Jackhorn, Kentucky, was shot multiple times and died at the scene, police said.

Shortly before 3 p.m., officers were called to the courthouse after reports of shots being fired from the building.

The fatal shooting in Whitesburg sent shockwaves through a small, densely populated Appalachian town and county seat of about 1,700 residents, about 145 miles southeast of Lexington.

“Sadly, I have been informed that a district judge in Letcher County was shot and killed in his office this afternoon,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a statement on social media. “There is far too much violence in this world and I pray there is a path to a better future.”

WSMV Channel 4 reports that Mullins was appointed judge in 2009. Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and will face re-election in 2022.

Chief District Attorney Matt Butler spoke of an outpouring of sympathy as he and his office withdrew from the shooting investigation, citing social and family ties to Mullins.

“We all know each other here. … Anyone from Letcher County would tell you that Judge Mullins and I married sisters and that we have children who are first cousins ​​but act like siblings,” Butler said in a statement from his office. “For this reason, among others, I have already taken steps to impartiality to myself and my entire office.”

In a social media post, state Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office was working with 27th Judicial District Attorney Jackie Steele as a special prosecutor in the shooting.

“We will conduct a thorough investigation and seek justice,” Coleman said in the post.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)