FLORENCE, Ky. — A mass shooting in Florence that killed four people and has three others wounded, started at a family birthday party for a young man turning 21.

What You Need To Know

  • Four people are dead and three others injured after a shooting in Florence

  • The shooting happened at a home on Ridgecrest Drive

  • Police received calls of a shooting at the home

  • The suspect, Chase Garvey, led police on a chase on U.S. 42 before he shot himself and crashed his car

Florence Police were called to a home on Ridgecrest Drive after reports of shots being fired at the home. The family was having a 21st birthday party for their son. Florence chief, Jeff Mallery, said when officers arrived at the home, gunshots were still being fired. Officers approached the house and found victims and began helping them. Witnesses at the party identified the suspected shooter as 21-year-old Chase Garvey of Florence. According to Mallery, Garvey was not a guest at the party.

Chase Garvey, 21, is suspected of murdering four people and hurting three others at a birthday party in Florence, Kentucky in the early morning of July 6, 2024. (Florence Police Department)

Witnesses told police Garvey had taken off, and they provided officers with a description of his car. According to Mallery, officers arriving on the scene saw a car matching the witness description and began chasing the car. Mallery said Garvey was driving south on U.S. 42 into Union and then into Hicks Pike. Police said Garvey shot himself and then his car crashed. Garvey was taken to St. Elizabeth Florence Hospital where he died of his injuries.

“I know what's going on throughout the nation, but this is the first time that we've had a mass shooting in Florence,” Mallery said. “Yeah, it is very emotional. My emotions are for the victims, their families, the officers that responded, everybody that was touched by this situation.”

The home on Ridgecrest Drive belongs to the Parrett family. The four people killed were Melissa Parrett, 44, Delaney Eary, 19, Shane Miller, 20 and Hayden Rybicki, who was also 20. The three people injured were taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center and, according to Mallery, are in stable condition and will recover from the injuries.

Mallery said, “We train on this hoping it would never happen, but unfortunately we’ve been touched like so many departments and city across the nation. Our training really kicked in, and they [officers] did an exceptional job.”

Mallery said the investigation is continuing and said his officers have body worn cameras. Mallery also said right now they do not have a motive behind the shooting.