Officers were called to a residence on Herald Whitaker Road, just after 3:00 AM on Tuesday over reports that 68-year-old Carter Whitaker had shot Christopher Barnett. Whitaker is a current Republican candidate for the Magoffin County Judge-Executive position in this year’s election.

When police arrived at the home, they found Barnett lying on the floor with a gunshot wound in his chest. Barnett was awake and talking to officers, but said he preferred not to talk about the incident. Other witnesses told police that the shooting seemingly came out of nowhere, with nothing preceding the incident that would have caused concern. Whitaker also informed officers that he didn’t know how it had happened. Another witness claimed that Whitaker may have had too much to drink.

Whitaker was arrested and charged with first-degree assault. He is currently being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, in Paintsville.