An early Saturday morning birthday party on July 6, 2024, in Florence, Kentucky, quickly turned tragic when an uninvited guest, 21-year-old Chase Garvey, initiated a mass shooting, causing four fatalities and critically injuring three others. Garvey fled the scene shortly after the incident, later ending his own life.
The tragic event took place just shy of 2:50 a.m. at a residence on Ridgecrest Drive. The host, Melissa Parrett, 44, was throwing a 21st birthday party for her son. The deceased victims were identified as Parrett, Shane Miller, 20, Hayden Rybicki, 20, and Delaney Eary, 19. Three others sustained serious injuries and are currently at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in critical, yet stable, condition.
Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery recounted the scene as police arrived: “When officers arrived, they still heard shots being fired. They saw multiple victims and were told the suspect had fled,” said Mallery.
The shooter, Garvey, had previous convictions of first-degree rape and second-degree sodomy in 2021. He was familiar to some attendees but was not an invited guest to the party. The reason behind his fatal actions remains uncertain.
Following the incident, eyewitnesses provided police with a description of Garvey and his vehicle, which resulted in a prompt response from law enforcement. Officers found Garvey’s car near an intersection a few blocks away, starting a pursuit. The chase ended over four miles away from the initial scene when Garvey crashed his car into a ditch and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The friends and family of the victims are grappling with the aftermath of the tragic event. Hayden Rybicki’s best friend, Jackson Hemingway, expressed his sorrow: “Hayden always put a smile on people’s faces and loved to go snowboarding. He was someone everyone loved to be around.”
The party host, Melissa Parrett, was fondly remembered by her neighbors: “She was a really good woman. And a great mother.”
The city of Florence, which had not previously experienced such a violent incident, is reeling. “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, noting the impact of the incident on the community and first responders.
This incident is the third mass shooting in the Greater Cincinnati area this year and the 20th mass killing in the United States in 2024.
Garvey’s motive is still unknown, and police are urging anyone with relevant information to step forward. The people of Florence are mourning the loss of four community members and rallying to support the survivors as they recover from this violent incident.