A district court judge in Kentucky was fatally shot in his chambers Thursday afternoon, Gov. Andy Beshear said.

A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed in his courthouse chambers Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged with murder, police said.

A sheriff allegedly shot and killed a district judge inside the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, Kentucky, police said.

Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was fatally shot in a courthouse at Whitesburg, Kentucky, on Thursday afternoon, according to Kentucky State Police.

The death of Kevin Mullins Thursday shocked close-knit Whitesburg, Kentucky. The sheriff charged with murder is accused of ignoring sexual abuse inside the courthouse.

A sheriff charged with murder in the shooting of a rural Kentucky judge in his courthouse chambers is accused in a federal lawsuit of ignoring abuse by one of his deputies, who later pleaded guilty to

A small, tight-knit southeast Kentucky community has been reeling after their sheriff was arrested for the killing of a prominent district judge in his chambers Thursday – spurring residents to wonder what could have triggered the shooting and prompting calls for better courthouse security.

Investigators are searching for a motive after a Kentucky sheriff was arrested for allegedly gunning down a judge in his chambers, officials said.