Sheriff Mickey Stines of Lechter County shot a district judge dead on Thursday during an argument that quickly escalated into gunshots.

Mr Stines, 43, willingly surrendered himself to the police, raising his two hands after firing a kill shot at Kevin Mullins, 54, in the courthouse on Thursday. 

The police department, led by Trooper Matt Gayheart, says Mr Stines has been charged with first-degree murder and that an investigation had been launched to determine a motive, if any. 

“This community is small in nature, and we’re all shook,” said Mr Gayheart.

“There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow,” Governor Andy Beshear of  Kentucky said in reaction to the murder on X.

Schools close to the courthouse had shut down for fear that a shooter might be on the loose, but a police statement affirmed the shooting to be an isolated incident which posed no danger to school students.

Attorney-general Russell Coleman assured that his office would run point on the investigation “and pursue justice.”

“Following the deadly shooting in Letcher County, our office will collaborate with Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit Jackie Steele as special prosecutors in this case,” Mr Coleman wrote on X.