Police: Officer shot, killed in suburban Detroit

WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - Police surrounded a home in suburban Detroit where a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a police officer has barricaded himself inside, and gunfire was heard at the scene Monday.

Pat O'Rourke, a married father of four, was shot about 10 p.m. Sunday inside the home in West Bloomfield Township, police Lt. Timothy Diamond said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, Diamond said.

O'Rourke was part of a team of four or five police officers who responded to a 911 call that a man had tried to kill himself or needed medical attention, he said.

They called the man's name as they climbed the stairs to the second floor and "were met by shots fired through the bedroom door and the drywall," Diamond said. The man has fired off several more gunshots since then, Diamond said.

Two other people escaped the home before the 911 call, and it wasn't clear if the suspected gunman was alone in house as the standoff continued. Diamond said the suspected gunman was involved in a "divorce situation"

"That's probably one of the things that precipitated this event," Diamond said.

In a memo to West Bloomfield officers, Lt. Curt Lawson said a "scene can turn in unexpected ways," despite the best training and preparation.

The Oakland County sheriff's department said Monday morning that its SWAT team was on the scene.

Officers closed roads in the area and evacuated nearby residents from their homes.