A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed in his courtroom Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged with murder, police said.
A preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times after an altercation inside the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police.
Mullins, who served as judge for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines surrendered without incident.
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said he was “appalled by this act of violence” and that the justice system was “shaken by this news.”
Letcher County Judge-Executive signed an order closing the county’s courthouses on Friday.
The courthouse is in Whitesburg, which is 145 miles southeast of Lexington, Ky.
Mullins, 54, was hit multiple times by gunfire, Kentucky State Police said. Stines, 43, was charged with one count of first-degree murder. The investigation is ongoing, police said.
‘There is too much violence in this world’
Responding to the shooting, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a social media post: “There is too much violence in this world, and I pray that there is a path to a better future.”
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office would work with the county’s district attorney as a special prosecutor in the criminal case. “We will fully investigate and seek justice,” Coleman said on social media.
Mullins has served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
Mullins is known for promoting substance abuse treatment for people involved in the justice system and helping hundreds of residents enter inpatient treatment, according to a program for a drug summit he attended in 2022.
He also helped develop a program called Addiction Recovery Care to offer peer support services in courthouses. The program has been adopted in at least 50 counties across Kentucky.
Mullins also served as a founding member of the Responsive Efforts Leadership Team to Support Care in Opioid Recovery Efforts.
