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A 21-year-old convicted felon has killed four victims and wounded three others in a mass shooting at a 21st birthday party in Kentucky before turning the gun on himself.
Police responded to a call just before 3am on Saturday morning for an active shooting situation at a home in Florence, Kentucky, where a group of friends were celebrating a birthday.
When they arrived on the scene, law enforcement found seven people suffering from gunshot wounds. Four of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, according to CNN.
The three wounded victims were taken for treatment at a local medical facility, where they are listed as critical but stable.
Later on Saturday, Florence Police Department Chief Jeff Mallery announced the identities of the four victims killed: Shane Miller, 20; Hayden Rybicki, 20; Delaney Eary, 19; and Melissa Parrett, 44.
Parrett, who owned the home, was hosting her son’s 21st birthday party when the gunman attacked, according to Mallery.
The suspected killer Chase Garvey, 21, was not invited to the party but was known to others at the gathering, police said.
He fled the scene of the shooting by car, before driving his vehicle into a ditch.
When officers approached the vehicle, they found the suspect suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Garvey was taken to local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Mallery said Garvey had previously been convicted of a sex crime. In 2021, he was arrested and charged with the rape of a 13-year-old girl in a parking lot.
He was sentenced to five years of probation after entering a guilty plea for unlawful transaction with a minor in the second degree, according to court records.
Authorities are yet to reveal how the victims and suspect knew each other.
Florence police said that there is no further threat to the public and that they are still investigating the motive for the attack.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Florence police on 859-371-1234.
