Officials said Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times around 2 p.m. local time Thursday at a courthouse in Whitesburg, Kentucky, a small rural town about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Lexington.
Kentucky State Police said Sheriff Steins was arrested at the scene without incident. They did not disclose the nature of the altercation before the shooting.
According to the local newspaper, the Mountain Eagle:, externalSheriff Steins entered the judge’s office and told court staff that he needed to speak to Mullins alone.
The two men went into the judge’s chambers and closed the door. The newspaper reported that people outside heard gunshots.
Sheriff Stein said he raised his hands and surrendered to police. He was handcuffed in the courthouse lobby.
State Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a previous post on Twitter, X, that his office would “thoroughly investigate and seek justice.”
Kentucky State Police spokesman Matt Gayheart said at a news conference that the incident left the town shocked.
“This community is inherently small, so we’re all in shock,” he said.
Mr. Gayheart said there were 50 employees inside the court building when the shooting occurred.
No one else was injured. A school in the area was briefly locked down.
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawrence B. VanMeter said he was “appalled by this act of violence.”
Announcing Judge Mullins’ death via social media, Kentucky Governor Andy Besha said, “There is too much violence in this world, and I pray that there is a path to a better tomorrow.”
