A birthday party in Florence, Kentucky took a tragic turn in the early morning of July 6, 2024, when a gunman attacked, killing four people and critically injuring three others. The attacker, 21-year-old Chase Garvey, left the scene and later ended his own life.

The shooting began shortly before 2:50 a.m. at a residence on Ridgecrest Drive. The host, Melissa Parrett, 44, was celebrating her son’s 21st birthday. Among the victims were Parrett, Shane Miller, 20, Hayden Rybicki, 20, and Delaney Eary, 19, who all died at the scene. The critically injured were rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where they are in stable but severe condition.

According to Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery, officers arrived at a chaotic scene. “When officers arrived, they still heard shots being fired. They saw multiple victims and were told the suspect had fled,” Mallery said.

Garvey, whose criminal record includes a conviction for first-degree rape and second-degree sodomy in 2021, was known to some attendees but was not an invited guest. The reason for his violent act is still not known.

Witnesses gave descriptions of Garvey and his vehicle, enabling a quick response from the police. They found Garvey’s vehicle near a nearby intersection, starting a pursuit. The chase ended more than four miles from the original location when Garvey crashed his car into a ditch and later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Friends and family of the victims are grappling with their loss. Hayden Rybicki’s best friend, Jackson Hemingway, expressed his sorrow, saying, “Hayden always put a smile on people’s faces and loved to go snowboarding. He was someone everyone loved to be around.”

Neighbors remembered Melissa Parrett, the party’s host, with warmth, stating, “She was a really good woman. And a great mother.”

The city of Florence is in shock, as this is the first mass shooting the city has experienced. “We never dealt with this before,” Chief Mallery said. “This is the first time we had a mass shooting in Florence, so yeah, it’s very emotional. We train on this, hoping it would never happen, but unfortunately, we’ve been touched like so many departments and cities,” Mallery added.

This incident is the third mass shooting in the Greater Cincinnati area in 2024 and the 20th in the United States this year. 

The reason behind Garvey’s actions remains undetermined. Police encourage anyone with information to step forward. The city of Florence is left mourning the four lives lost and supporting the survivors as they navigate the aftermath of this violent act.