Kentucky State Police are searching for motive as they investigate the fatal shooting of a district judge by a sheriff after the two had an argument inside the judge’s chambers, according to police.

Stines, 43, shot District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, on Thursday afternoon after an argument inside the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, Kentucky.Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

The police say a sheriff shot District Judge Kevin Mullins inside the courthouse on Thursday afternoon before turning himself in.

A district judge is dead and a county sheriff has been arrested in connection to a fatal shooting at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Police charged Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines after the shooting of District Judge Kevin Mullins in his Whitesburg courthouse.

Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines has been arrested following a fatal shooting at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg on Thursday. In a message posted on X, formerly Twitter, Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed,

Kevin R. Mullins, 54, had been a District Judge in Letcher County, Kentucky for 15 years. Before that, he was a prosecutor in Letcher County, starting in 2001. The official title is assistant commonwealth’s attorney.

District Judge Kevin Mullins was shot inside the Letcher County Courthouse. Kentucky State Auditor of Public Accounts Allison Ball confirmed Mullins was the shooting victim in a post on social media.

A Kentucky sheriff allegedly shot a judge early Thursday afternoon. Here's a look at the motive behind the Letcher County shooting.

Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines has been arrested in connection to a shooting at the Letcher County Courthouse on Thursday.