SALYERSVILLE, Ky. — A political candidate in Magoffin County has been arrested after police say he shot someone.
Police were called just after 3 a.m. Tuesday to a residence on Herald Whitaker Road, over a report that 68-year-old Carter Whitaker had shot Christopher Barnett. Whitaker is a Republican candidate for Magoffin County judge-executive in this year’s election.
At the home, they found Barnett lying in the floor with a gunshot wound to the chest. Barnett was awake and talking, but told police he didn’t want to talk about the incident.
Other witnesses in the home say the shooting came as a surprise, saying that nothing preceded it that would have led them to believe it was about to happen. Whitaker also told police he didn’t know how it happened, but one of the witnesses told police they thought Whitaker might have had too much to drink.
Whitaker was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, which is punishable by 10-to-20 years in prison. He is currently being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, in Paintsville.
