Chase Garvey, Florence, Kentucky man shoots 4 dead, injures 3 others during the early morning hours of a birthday pool party before shooting self dead. Fatal victims identified as, Delaney Eary, 19 years old, Hayden Rybicki, 20 years old, Melissa Parrett, 44 years old and Shane Miller, 21 years old. Did gunman seek revenge on ex-girlfriend?
A 21 year old gunman is alleged to have shot dead 4 people along with critically injuring another three in a mass shooting in Florence, Kentucky before killing himself during the early morning hours of Saturday morning.
The shooting incident is alleged to have occurred just on 2.50 a.m during a birthday pool party at the 2600 block of Ridgecrest Drive in Florence, KY, with the Florence Police Department identifying the shooter as Florence, Kentucky man, Chase Garvey, 20.
🇺🇸Mass shooting in Florence, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio.
The shooting occurred during a party. 4 people were killed and 3 were seriously injured.
The suspect fled the scene before the police arrived, but died soon after from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.#USA #America… pic.twitter.com/Ez0imcU8hY
— Attentive Media (@AttentiveCEE) July 6, 2024
Intruder opened gunfire during birthday celebrations
The suspect upon inflicting his carnage, led police on a wild chase, before crashing his vehicle along Dale Heimbrock Way and turning his weapon on himself.
The gunman was taken to hospital where he later died.
Responding police told of finding four people dead and three other critically injured victims who were taken to the ICU at UC Hospital. At the time of their arrival at the scene, officers told of hearing gunfire before party occupants at a residence gave a description of the fleeing gunman’s vehicle.
The Florence Church of God said in a post on Facebook that the tragedy unfolded after an intruder opened fire on the birthday celebrations.
Among the victims were a mom (Melissa Parrett, 44) who was fatally shot along with her 21 year old daughter, who was wounded. The shooting happened during the un-identified daughter’s 21st birthday party according to the chief.
It is believed Garvey knew his victims and specifically targeted them.
Florence, Kentucky shooting victims identified
During a Saturday press conference, Florence Police Department Chief Jeff Mallery identified the victims as;
- Delaney Eary, 19 years old of Burlington and thought to be the gunman’s ex gf.
- Hayden Rybicki, 20 years old of Crestview Hills.
- Melissa Parrett , 44 years old of Florence.
- Shane Miller, 20 years old of Florence.
The identity of the gunman was given as 21-year-old man, Chase Garvey. Initial accounts told of the gunman being known to his victims but the man was uninvited to the home where birthday festivities were taking place.
Garvey had been arrested before Saturday’s shooting multiple times in the past and had most recently been lodged in the Kenton County Detention Center for 30 days on August 25, 2023, due to a ‘parole violation,’ according to the Kenton County Detention Center website.
Revenge on ex girlfriend breaking up with him?
Initial comments on social media indicated the gunman barging into the birthday party to take revenge on his former girlfriend who Garvey is believed to have shot. The former girlfriend is believed to have a new boyfriend.
‘We never dealt with this before,’ Chief Mallery said during Saturday’s press conference . ‘This is the first time we had a mass shooting in Florence, so yeah it’s very emotional.’
A heavy police presence remained at the scene amid an ongoing investigation.
At 8am, the cops confirmed the three injured parties were in a critical but stable condition and were all expected to survive.
The Florence Police Department is asking anyone who has any information relevant to this event to contact them at 859-371-1234.
Florence is located about 12 miles (19km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio.
