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.

WHITESBURG, Ky. — The sheriff charged with murder in the shooting of a rural Kentucky judge in his courthouse chambers was accused in a federal lawsuit of failing to investigate allegations that one of his deputies repeatedly sexually abused a woman in the same judge’s chambers.

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.

A Kentucky State Police spokesman said shots were fired inside the Letcher County Courthouse at 2:55 p.m. after an argument between Stines and Mullins. Mullins was pronounced dead at the scene. Here's a look at a few statements about the shooting on social media.

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.

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.

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.