Heroic final act of Kentucky mom, 44, killed at her son's pool party by mass shooter
A heroic Kentucky mom used her final moments to save her teen daughter from a mass shooter's rampage after he opened fire during her son's 21st birthday party.
Melissa Parrett, 44, died while protecting daughter Chloe Parrett, 19, during the incident on Saturday.
Her father Bruce Parrett, who was not present at the time of the shooting, told WKYT he is 'forever grateful' her mom tried to save her.
The family were celebrating Brendan Parrett's birthday with a pool party at their Florence home when Chase Garvey, 21, showed up unannounced and began gunning down guests.
Seven people were shot in total, four of whom were fatally wounded, before Garvey fled and turned the gun on himself.
Melissa Parrett, 44, died while protecting daughter Chloe Parrett, 19, during a mass shooting on Saturday
Police have not stated a motive, but among his victims is Delaney Eary, 19, who is believed to be Garvey's ex-girlfriend.
Eary died along with friends Shane Miller, 20, and Hayden Rybicki, 20.
Paerett was remembered as an 'amazing and dedicated mom' by loved ones.
Among those injured were Chloe and her friends Konnor Markesbery and Claire Smith. Smith is in the ICU post surgery but expected to recover, a fundraiser has been set up to help with costs.
Markesbury is also expected to make a physical recovery, with donations also being requested.
Bruce Parrett said his daughter is 'fighting for her life' in a GoFundMe. He described the moment he received the heart-stopping call at around 3am.
'I parked at the top of the street and ran down to the house, where I saw all of the carnage of a scene no human being should ever have to witness in their life,' said.
Police were called to the 2600 block of Ridgecrest Drive in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Parrett was protecting her daughter Chloe (left) when the mass shooter opened fire during a 21st birthday party for her son Brendan (right)
The family were enjoying a pool party at their home in Kentucky, Florence when the horror unfolded also leaving Chloe injured
On arrival, they found four people dead and three other critically injured victims who were taken to the ICU at a nearby hospital.
Garvey fled the scene in his own vehicle before he crashed, with officers finding him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
During a press conference Saturday afternoon, Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery said Garvey had not been invited to the party but had showed up.
Mallery added that he was known to the partygoers, and that their initial investigation had revealed that Garvey had been acting alone.
Images on his social media show him clutching a sniper rifle, a hand gun and a shotgun.
Garvey was known to police before the shooting on Saturday, having been arrested and charged in 2021 for the rape of a 13-year-old girl.
In April of last year, he was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to unlawful transaction with a minor in the second degree.
According to a report at the time by Fox19, the victim told police she had been messaging Garvey on Snapchat weeks before the incident.
Chase Garvey, 21, gunned down seven people - four of whom died - before turning the gun on himself
Among the fatalities were Garvey's ex-girlfriend Delaney Eary and her friend Hayden Rybicki
Claire Smith and Konor Markesbury were injured during the shooting but expected to make a recovery
Images on Garvey's social media show him clutching a sniper rifle, a hand gun and a shotgun
The home that the party was being held at had belonged to the Parrett family, who were celebrating a birthday with a pool party
The report says that the girl had told Garvey she was 13, and that they met at an apartment complex inside his vehicle.
The girl told police that she said to Garvey that 'she didn't want to do anything sexual' when Garvey held her hands down and raped her.
Garvey, then 18, admitted in a police interview to having sex with the girl and said the girl had performed oral sex on him prior.
Police in Florence have said that the investigation into the mass shooting on Saturday is still under investigation.
Mallery continued: 'We've never dealt with this before. I know it's going on throughout the nation, but this is the first time that we've had a mass shooting in Florence.
'It is very emotional. And my emotions are for the victims, their families, the officers that responded and everybody that was touched by this situation.'
