A rural Kentucky county judge was shot and killed in his courtroom Thursday, and a local sheriff has been charged with murder, police said.
According to Kentucky State Police, a preliminary investigation determined that Letcher County Sheriff Sean M. Steens shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an altercation inside the courthouse.
Mullins, who served as a judge for 15 years, died at the scene, while Stynes was released without incident.
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawrence B. Van Meter said he was “shocked by this act of violence” and that “our court system has been shaken by this news.”
The Letcher County Magistrate's Office signed an order Friday closing the county courthouse.
Kentucky State Police said Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times in the shooting.
Stines, 43, is charged with first-degree murder.
Police said their investigation is continuing.
“There is too much violence in this world. I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a social media post following the shooting.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will work with state attorneys in the region as special prosecutors in the criminal case.
