District Judge Kevin Mullins was shot dead on Thursday in his own office in the US town of Whitesburg, Kentucky, US media reported.
Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, was taken into custody without incident at the Letcher County courthouse where 54-year-old District Judge Kevin Mullins was shot and killed, Kentucky State Police said in a statement.
Police did not give a motive for the shooting. Stines faces one count of first-degree murder. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on X:
There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman wrote on social media that his office would cooperate with special prosecutors in the case, writing, “We will conduct a full investigation and get justice.”
The Kentucky court wrote on its social media accounts that the court is “aware of the tragic incident that occurred today in Letcher County” and that it is fully supporting the state police in the investigation.
The shooting happened in Whitesburg, about 350 kilometres southeast of Louisville and near the Virginia border.
The Mountain Eagle newspaper reported from the courthouse that Stines entered the judge’s outer office and told court staff he needed to speak to Mullins alone. They closed the door to the inner office behind them, and shots later rang out.
Mullins was known to a wide range of Americans. He was recognised for his efforts to treat drug addicts rather than incarcerate them. Mullins served as district judge of Kentucky’s 47th District Court in Letcher County after being appointed by former Governor Steve Beshear in 2009, according to the Associated Press. He was elected a year later, then re-elected in 2014 and again in 2022.
Prior to being appointed to the court, Mullins worked as an assistant Letcher County prosecutor and worked primarily on drug offences, CNN affiliate WKYT reported. He was admitted to the bar in 1995.
