A convicted felon killed four people at a birthday party in Kentucky on Saturday, then shot himself while fleeing from police.
According to police, the fatal shooting happened just before 2:50 a.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of Ridgecrest Drive in Florence, Kentucky, where homeowner Melissa Parrett was hosting a party for her son’s 21st birthday.
The shooter, identified as 21-year-old Chase Garvey, was not invited to the party but wounded three people during his rampage.
Gunshots were still ringing out when officers arrived at the home.
“Gunshots were still being heard when officers arrived on scene,” Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery said Saturday. “When officers arrived at the residence, there were multiple victims. Partygoers advised officers the suspect had fled.”
Police identified the four victims as Parrett, 44, Shane Miller, 20, Hayden Rybicki, 20, and Delaney Airey, 19.
“She was the life of the party,” a neighbor said. W.L.W.T. Of the palette.
“She was always having fun, swimming in the pool, having a drink. She was just a good woman. And a great mother.”
Two of the victims were found in the front yard. Mallery said.
The three injured were taken to University of Cincinnati Hospital in serious but stable condition.
Police did not disclose the relationship between the shooter and the victims.
Party attendees recognized Garvey and gave police a description of his vehicle, which police “shortly” found near an intersection a few blocks from his home.
Police stopped Garvey in his vehicle, but he continued to flee, eventually taking his own life when his car crashed into a ditch more than four miles from the scene of the shooting.
Garvey was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police are continuing to investigate, but the motive for the shooting remains unclear.
Garvey was convicted in 2021 of two felony sex offense counts: first-degree rape and second-degree rape. According to WLWT.
“We’ve never experienced anything like this before. I know it’s been talked about across the country, but this is the first time we’ve had a shooting in Florence. It’s very emotional,” Mallery said.
“We’ve trained and hoped that something like this would never happen, but unfortunately, like so many other departments and cities, we were affected,” he said, growing emotional.
“This is the first mass shooting in Florence, so it’s understandably emotional for everyone involved,” Mallery added.
