Bloody deed in court

Sheriff shoots judge in small US town

(Bild: kameraOne (Screenshot), Kentucky Court of Justice via AP, Krone KREATIV)

In Whitesburg in the US state of Kentucky, a sheriff shot and killed a district judge in the courthouse on Thursday. There had apparently been an argument between the two men. The 43-year-old sheriff was arrested without incident and charged with murder.

According to local newspaper The Mountain Eagle, Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines entered the courthouse that afternoon and told staff he needed to speak with the judge, Kevin Mulins. The men then went to the county judge's office and a short time later the fatal shots were fired.

The bloody deed took place in this courthouse.

(Bild: kameraOne (Screenshot))

District judge shot several times
According to initial investigations, the sheriff fired several shots at the 54-year-old district judge. He then came out of the courtroom with his hands up. Stines was handcuffed in the foyer - without incident. No one else was harmed.

Mullins, who had been a judge for 15 years, died at the scene. According to the "Washington Post", around 50 people were in the courthouse in Whitesburg - a small rural town with a population of around 1700 - at the time of the bloodbath in the afternoon.

Kevin Mullins (pictured), who held the judgeship for 15 years, died in his office in the courthouse.

(Bild: AP/Kentucky Court of Justice)

Prosecutor: "Wave of sympathy"
 The fatal shooting in Whitesburg caused a shock in the small Appalachian town. The county's lead prosecutor spoke of a wave of sympathy when he recused himself and his office from investigating the case because of his family ties to Mullins.