4 killed, 3 injured in mass shooting at a 21st birthday party, Kentucky authorities say
Officers found seven victims suffering from gunshot wounds shortly before 3 a.m. after receiving calls of an active shooter at a home on Ridgecrest Drive in Florence, southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio, Florence Police Department Chief Jeff Mallery said during a Saturday afternoon news conference.
Mallery identified the four gunshot victims as Shane Miller, 20; Hayden Rybicki, 20; Delaney Eary, 19; and Melissa Parrett, 44.
Parrett, the homeowner, was hosting her son’s 21st birthday party when the shooting occurred, Mallery said. Police identified Chase Garvey, 21, as the suspect and say he was not invited to the party but was known by the people in attendance.
Three of the victims were transported to a hospital in Cincinnati and are listed in critical but stable condition, according to a statement by police.
Garvey initially fled the scene and police say he was discovered a short time later in a crashed vehicle with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said Garvey was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The shooter’s motive is unclear, and Garvey acted alone, authorities say.
“We’ve never dealt with this before. I know it’s going on throughout the nation, but this is the first time we’ve had a mass shooting in Florence. So, it is very emotional,” Mallery said.
Officials say there is no ongoing threat to the public and the investigation remains ongoing.
The shooting is the 277th mass shooting to occur in the United States in 2024, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. Like CNN, the archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.
The victims who were transported to a hospital in Cincinnati include three individuals from our community, as noted by the police statement. The Gun Violence Archive, a recognized source, has reported that this incident in Florence is the 277th mass shooting in the United States this year.
