A young man who wasn't invited to an aquaintance's 21st birthday party showed up with a gun and killed four people before dying by suicide during a police chase.
Three people were also critically wounded during the carnage early Saturday in Florence, Kentucky, a Cincinnati suburb.
"We've never dealt with this before," Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery told reporters while struggling to maintain his composure during a news conference. "I know it's going on across the nation but this is the first time we've ever had a mass shooting in Florence. So, yeah, it is very emotional."
Police were called about gunfire at a home on Ridgecrest Drive around 2:50 a.m. and officers "still heard shots being fired" when they arrived at the scene, 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," he said.
The gunman was identified as Chase Garvey, 20, of Florence, who was "known to the partygoers" but wasn't invited to the celebration for the son of Melissa Parrett, 44, one of those killed.
Also slain were Shane Miller, 20, of Florence; Hayden Rybicki, 20, of Elsemere, Kentucky; and Delaney Eary, 19, of Burlington, Kentucky.
Police spotted Garvey's car nearby and tried to stop him but he sped away and led cops on a chase southbound on U.S. Highway 42.
The pursuit ended when Garvey drove off the road and into a ditch near Hicks Pike in Union, Kentucky.
The killer was found with what Mallery described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound and he was taken to a local hospital where he died.
The three wounded victims were all expected to fully recover, Mallery said.
If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
