Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines is accused of shooting District Court Judge Kevin Mullins in his chambers Thursday.

A rural Kentucky town is now at the center of national headlines after police say the local sheriff shot and killed a district judge.

Later that day, Stines, 43 – a man whose role made him responsible for judge’s personal security – fatally shot Mullins, 54, inside the Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg, according to Kentucky State Police. Stines was arrested at the courthouse and is now facing a first-degree murder charge, authorities said.