A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot dead in his courtroom on Thursday and the local sheriff was charged with murder, police said.

According to the Kentucky State Police, preliminary investigations indicate that Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument in the courthouse.

Mullins, who served as judge for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines surrendered without incident.

Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said he was “shocked by this act of violence” and the court system was “shaken by this news.”

The Letcher County Magistrate Judge signed an order closing the district court on Friday.

Mullins, 54, was hit multiple times in the shooting, Kentucky State Police said.

Stines, 43, was charged with first-degree murder.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

In response to the shooting, Governor Andy Beshear said in a social media post: “There is far too much violence in this world and I pray there is a path to a better future.”

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office would work with a prosecutor in the region as a special prosecutor in the criminal case.