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A sheriff has been arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the killing of a judge inside a Kentucky courthouse on Thursday, Kentucky State Police confirmed to HuffPost.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, is accused of fatally shooting District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, in the Letcher County Courthouse after an argument just before 3 p.m. local time, according to state police. Mullins suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart told local outlet WJHL earlier in the day that Mullins’ killing is an “isolated incident” and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
“Any time a situation like this takes place, especially in a small town, it shakes the very foundation of what the town is and this is no different,” Gayheart told WJHL.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office and the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit Jackie Steele will “investigate and pursue justice” in the case.
Gov. Andy Beshear (D) posted about the killing earlier in the day on X, formerly Twitter.
“Sadly, I have been informed that a district judge in Letcher County was shot and killed in his chambers this afternoon,” Beshear said in a statement. “There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.”
The Letcher County Courthouse is temporarily closed, according to its website. The official page for Kentucky’s state courts declined to provide more details in a statement Thursday, but said it was “committed to providing assistance in any way that we can.”
