Four people were fatally shot and three others were injured in a mass shooting at a birthday pool party in Kentucky on Saturday, according to the Florence Police Department. Officers responded to a private residence at 2:51 a.m. local time, and as they approached the home, they still heard “shots being fired,” Police Chief Jeff Mallery said at a press conference. There were two victims out front of the residence, he said. Officers found multiple people injured inside the home and performed first aid on as many as they could, the police chief said. Partygoers told officers “the suspect had fled,” and gave them a vehicle description.
Other officers coming into the neighborhood saw a vehicle that fit the description, Mallery said. A Florence police officer and sheriff’s deputy tried to nab the suspect, the chief said, but he fled. A chase ensued, police said, and only ended when the suspect’s car drove into a ditch off the roadway. Mallery said it is believed the suspect shot himself while driving and crashed his vehicle. The suspect was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Three of the victims were taken to UC Health Hospital. They are currently listed in critical but stable condition, officials said. It appears they will make a “full recovery,” the chief said. The suspect was known to the partygoers and they identified him to the police. He had been convicted for a previous sex crime, Mallery said, but it doesn’t seem to be tied to the shooting. “He just showed up,” said Mallery, who added that everyone was attending a 21st birthday pool party in honor of the homeowner’s son. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.” The police chief identified the victims during the news conference. The victims are Shane Miller, 20, from Florence, Hayden Rybicki, 20, from Elsmere, Delaney Eary, 19, from Burlington, and Melissa Parrett, 44, from Florence.
The suspect has been identified as Chase Garvey, 21, from Florence, police said. “We never dealt with this before. We know it’s going on throughout the nation, but this is the first time we’ve had a mass shooting in Florence,” the chief said, visibly emotional at the news conference. Florence Church of God, a local church, posted on its social media that one of their congregation’s sisters asked for prayers for her friend whose daughter was killed in the shooting. “A man came in uninvited on a birthday pool party and killed four people,” the church’s Pastor Campbell wrote. One of them was a friend’s daughter, the pastor wrote, and “her granddaughter is in the hospital with gunshot wounds.”
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In: Kentucky Crime
Cara Tabachnick Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]
Representational Image Washington: Four people were killed and three others injured in a shooting at a home in Kentucky in the US on Saturday, police said. According to the Florence Police Department, four individuals were declared dead at the location, while three others were taken to a nearby hospital and are currently in critical but stable condition. Officers responded to the residence at nearly 3 am on Saturday and as they approached the home, they still heard shots being fired, Police Chief Jeff Mallery said at a press conference. People were attending a birthday pool party at that time. The suspect, described as an adult male, fled the scene in a vehicle prior to police arrival, leading to a police chase. The suspect then drove off the road and crashed into a ditch. Law enforcement found the suspect with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Xinhua news agency reported. Party attendees recognized the suspect and provided his identity to the police. According to Mallery, he had a prior conviction for a sexual offense, though it does not appear to be connected to the shooting. Officials said that an initial investigation indicated the suspect acted alone, and there was no danger to the public. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Four people were killed during a horrific shooting at a property in Kentucky where people were reportedly celebrating a birthday party. Police said the suspect is dead. People were reportedly celebrating a birthday party. Four people and a suspect, are dead following a shooting at a birthday pool party in Kentucky as three others fight for their lives in hospital. The Florence Police Department was called to an incident at a property just before 3am where a birthday pool party had been in full swing. When police attended the property in Florence, they found four people dead and three others injured. A neighbor spoke to ABC affiliate WCPO and said they heard what they first thought were fireworks at around 2.15am in the morning of July 6. Reports indicate the other three injured were taken to the hospital.
Police found the suspect with what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suspect fled in a vehicle, but crashed into a ditch following a police chase. Police found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The suspect’s names has not yet been released, but police have said there is no ongoing threat to the public. The Florence Police Department is now appealing for information. Speaking at a press conference police said the suspect was “known” to the other partygoers but they don’t “believe he was invited to the party”. A possible motive has not yet been released as the murder investigation continues. The shooting took place at a birthday pool party, according to a local church that appealed to the community for prayers for the victims. In a post, the church wrote: “The shooting that took place in Florence last night was at [a churchgoer’s] home. A man came in uninvited on a birthday pool party and killed four people.”
The identity of the suspect has not yet been released. It comes after one person was killed and seven others injured during a shooting at a Kentucky nightclub. The Louisville Metro Police Department officials said they responded to a call of several people shot at the H20 nightclub in Louisville just before 1am. One man, 40-year-old Joseph D. Bowers of Indianapolis, was pronounced dead at the scene. Another adult was transported to UofL Hospital with gunshot wounds police believe to be “critical and life-threatening” at the time of the shooting on June 22. Six other people transported themselves to area hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening. The Louisville Metro Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating the case. There are currently no suspects. “The relationship of the victims, if any, is not known at this time,” police said in a statement at the time. Elsewhere, shootings and other violence during the extended Fourth of July weekend have left at least 33 people dead. A total of 11 were killed in Chicago alone and dozens of others were injured nationwide. The Fourth of July historically is one of the nation’s deadliest days of the year. A flurry of shootings around the holiday a year ago left more than a dozen people dead and over 60 wounded. A year before that, seven people died in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago. Violence and mass shootings often increase in the summer months, with more people gathering for social events, teens out of school and hotter temperatures.
Source: CBS News, NDTV, The Mirror
