'Tragedy': Kentucky sheriff charged in fatal courthouse shooting of judge stuns community
A small eastern Kentucky community is reeling and searching for answers after a Letcher County sheriff was arrested and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Judge Kevin Mullins in his district office Thursday afternoon.
A small eastern Kentucky community is reeling and searching for answers after a Letcher County sheriff was arrested and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Judge Kevin Mullins in his district office Thursday afternoon.
Matt Butler, commonwealth attorney for Letcher County, said the community "is completely devastated" and asked for prayers for the judge's family.
"If you knew Letcher County, you would know that families stay tightly connected at all times and pull even more tightly during times of unspeakable tragedy like today," he said in a statement late Thursday. "I know personally that the definition of family can extend beyond biological relation and I urge everyone to remember that our community is a safe and welcoming place."
District Judge Kevin Mullins. Kentucky Court of Justice via APButler said his children and Mullins' children are first cousins "but act like siblings." He said his children "have cried and cried and begged to see their uncle."
The shooting occurred shortly before 3 p.m. at the Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg, about 217 miles southeast of Louisville. Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, a two-term sheriff, was arrested and charged with one count of murder, Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said.
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