Sex offender kills 4, injures 3 at Kentucky birthday party

A convicted sex offender opened fire at a birthday party in northern Kentucky, killing four people and injuring three others, local officials say. The suspect later killed himself while being chased by police.

The incident happened at around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday when officers responded to reports of a shooting on Ridgecrest Drive in Florence, a city in Boone County, about 9 miles southwest of Cincinnati.

“When officers arrived, they still heard shots being fired and they approached the residence,” Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery said. “When they got to the residence, they saw multiple victims and once they got into the residence, the partygoers told them that the suspect had fled and gave a vehicle description.”

Other responding officers spotted the vehicle in the neighborhood and tried to pull it over, after which the suspect took off and lead police on a pursuit, Mallery said at a press conference.

“While driving down Hicks Pike, it’s believed that the shooter shot himself with the gun that he had and then crashed his vehicle,” the chief said. “The shooter was transported to St. Elizabeth Florence where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.”

At the initial scene, officers located a total of seven gunshot victims, including four people who died at the scene. They were later identified as 19-year-old Delaney Eary, 20-year-old Hayden Rybicki, 20-year-old Shane Miller and 44-year-old Melissa Parrett.

Three other victims were taken to UC Medical Center in Cincinnati, where all of them were reported to be in stable condition. All of the survivors are expected to make a full recovery.

Police said a birthday party for Parrett’s 21-year-old son was taking place at the house when the suspect arrived and opened fire. The shooter, 21-year-old Chase Garvey, was known to the victims but was not invited.

Police described Garvey as a convicted felon in connection with a sex crime but specific details were not immediately released. Investigators believe the crime is not related to Saturday’s killings.

According to a 2021 news article, a person with the same name and age was accused of forcibly raping a 13-year-old girl in the back of a car in June 2021. It said Garvey met the girl on Snapchat weeks before the incident.

Garvey was later convicted of Unlawful transaction with a minor in the second degree, a Class D felony, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections. He was sentenced to 5 years probation with supervision and was not required to register as a sex offender.