Florence, KY – A 21st birthday celebration turned into a horrific tragedy when an uninvited guest, Chase Garvey, opened fire, killing four people and injuring three others. The shooter later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police.
The incident occurred shortly before 3 a.m. on Saturday, as partygoers called Florence police to report an active shooter at a home on Ridgecrest Drive. Chief Jeff Mallery stated that officers arriving at the scene still heard shots being fired.
Officers discovered two victims on the front lawn and five more inside the home. Paramedics pronounced four victims dead at the scene while three others were rushed to a nearby Cincinnati hospital. The deceased were identified as Shane Miller, 20; Hayden Rybicki, 20; Delaney Eary, 19; and Melissa Parrett, 44. The party was for Parrett’s son.
Witnesses identified the shooter as 21-year-old Chase Garvey and provided a description of his vehicle. A responding officer spotted Garvey’s car, which led to a chase that ended when Garvey’s vehicle crashed into a ditch on Dale Heimbrock Way near Hicks Pike. Garvey was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Chief Mallery expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and his officers who responded to the scene. He noted that Florence had never experienced a mass shooting before and that this incident was deeply affecting the community.
