As residents of a small town in southeast Kentucky mourn the loss of a prominent district judge, they’re looking for answers about the argument that authorities say led up to his killing inside the judge’s chambers and the sheriff’s arrest in his death.

A longtime judge in a rural county courtroom that deals with mostly minor crimes was shot and killed in his chambers Thursday. Kentucky State Police arrested the sheriff for the county in which they both served at the scene.

Kevin R. Mullins, 54, had been a District Judge in Letcher County, Kentucky for 15 years. Before that, he was a prosecutor in Letcher County, starting in 2001. The official title is assistant commonwealth’s attorney. He was a graduate of the University of Kentucky and the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.