Vigil Planned For Police Officer Killed Sunday
WEST BLOOMFIELD (WWJ) - A candlelight vigil will be held Tuesday for fallen West Bloomfield Township police officer Patrick O'Rourke.
Community leaders, clergy, police officers, firefighters and residents are expected at the event set to take place at 7:45 p.m. in front of the West Bloomfield Township Police Department.
O'Rourke, a father of four and a 12-year veteran of the department, is the first police officer in the community's history to be killed in the line of duty.
"We are experiencing tremendous grief over the death of Officer O'Rourke," said West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste, in a statement. "We are joining with members of the West Bloomfield Clergy Association to honor the memory of this hero who was lost to a senseless act of violence. The entire community is invited to come together and share their grief and express their gratitude to the brave police officers and firefighters who risk lives for us every day of the year."
O'Rourke was gunned down Sunday night at a home on Forest Edge Lane near Pontiac Trail. An armed standoff continued there Monday afternoon. (More on this here).
(The standoff ended at about 6:30 p.m. when police found the suspect dead in the home.)
Steve Corry was O'Rourke's father in law, but said Patrick was more like a son. "There was nobody that didn't like Patrick. He was an incredible guy," Corry told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeil.
Corry was among the family members gathered at the home on Monday to support his daughter Amy in the wake of O'Rourke's death. "She's very upset right now ... You know, she never considered him her husband -- he was her best friend. They got a little wall plaque in their bedroom (that says) how lucky she was to marry her best friend."
Incredibly, Corry said his daughter is not angry with the man who killed her husband. "Amy is a very, very devout Catholic. She is actually praying for the perpetrator and hoping there's a good result," he said.
A memorial fund is being set up to help the family send the children to college. Information about how to make donations to the memorial fund will be made available at the vigil.
