Kentucky convicted felon kills 4, injures 3 at birthday party before fatally shooting himself
A convicted felon killed four people at a Kentucky birthday party on Saturday before he fatally shot himself while fleeing from the police.
The deadly shooting happened just before 2:50 a.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of Ridgecrest Drive in Florence, KY where homeowner Melissa Parrett was hosting a 21st birthday for her son, according to police.
The gunman, identified as 21-year-old Chase Garvey, was not invited to the party, where he also injured three people during his rampage.
Gunshots were still ringing out as police officers arrived at the home.
“When officers arrived, they still heard shots being fired,” Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery said on Saturday. “When they got to the residence, they saw multiple victims. Partygoers told them that the suspect had fled.”
Police identified the four victims as Parrett, 44, Shane Miller, 20, Hayden Rybicki, 20 and Delaney Eary, 19.
“She was the life of the party, one neighbor told WLWT of Parrett.
“She was always up for having fun. Swimming in her pool. Having a few drinks. She was a really good woman. And a great mother.”
Two of the victims were found in the front yard, Mallery said.
The three injured were transported to the University of Cincinnati hospital and were listed in critical but stable condition.
Police did not reveal the relationship between the gunman and the victims.
Guests at the party recognized Garvey and had given a description of the vehicle to police, who “quickly” located the car near an intersection a few blocks from the home.
Police initiated a traffic stop on Garvey who continued to flee before he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and crashed into a ditch over 4 miles from the mass shooting.
Garvey was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The motive behind the shooting remains unknown as police continue the investigation.
Garvey was convicted of two felony sex crimes in 2021 for first-degree rape and second-degree sodomy, according to WLWT.
“We never dealt with this before, I know it’s going around the nation but this is the first time we had a mass shooting in Florence, so yeah it is very emotional,” Mallery said.
“We train on this, hoping it would never happen, but unfortunately, we’ve been touched like so many departments and cities,” he said appearing emotional.
“This is the first mass shooting in Florence, so it’s understandably emotional for everyone involved,” Mallery added.
