A Kentucky judge was fatally shot by the local sheriff in his office, police say. Here’s what we know so far.

A judge was fatally shot in his office by a local sheriff after an argument at a courthouse in Whitesburg, Kentucky, on Thursday, state police said.

District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene. Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. (“Mickey”) Stines, 43, was arrested and charged with murder.

“Sadly, I have been informed that a Letcher County District Judge was shot and killed in his chambers this afternoon,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wrote in a statement. a post on X“There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray that there is a path to a better future.”

What happened?

The shooting happened around 2:55 p.m. Thursday when Kentucky State Police received a 911 call from the Letcher County Courthouse “regarding shots fired from inside the building,” State Trooper Matt Gayheart said in a Facebook post.

Multiple law enforcement and emergency medical services responded to the scene and found Mullins with multiple gunshot wounds. “Life-saving measures were attempted but were unsuccessful,” Gayheart said.

Stines was taken into custody at the scene without incident and charged with one count of murder.

Letcher County Court Clerk Mike Watts told The Associated Press that he saw Mullins and Stines in the judge’s chambers about three hours before the shooting, when he went into the courtroom to ask Mullins to sign papers. Mullins and Stines were getting ready to go to lunch together, Watts said.

“It seemed like a normal interaction, except Stines seemed calmer than usual,” Watts told the AP.

What was the reaction?

The shooting sent shockwaves through Whitesburg, a town of about 1,700 people 145 miles southeast of Lexington.

“This is a small community,” Gayheart said at a news conference Thursday night. “And we’re all in shock.”

Letcher County’s top prosecutor, Matt Butler, said in a statement that he was recusing himself from the case because of close family ties to the slain judge.

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

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office would appoint special prosecutors to “fully investigate and deliver justice.”

What we know about the victim and the suspect

Mullins has served as a district judge in Kentucky’s 47th District Court in Letcher County since 2010. Prior to his judicial appointment, Mullins served as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Letcher County and focused primarily on drug offenses, according to CNN.

The AP noted that Mullins “was known for promoting drug treatment for people involved in the justice system and helped hundreds of residents enter inpatient residential treatment.”

He had recently been appointed to a state judicial commission on mental health.

Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. According to The New York Times, Stines was named as a defendant in two federal lawsuits as sheriff, including one “involving a former deputy sheriff accused of sexually abusing an inmate.”