Tuesday: 12:55 p.m.: WXYZ reports that the gunman, Rick Coley, died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the mouth. The station cited autopsy conducted on Coley.
For an upscale suburb, far from the havoc of the big city, West Bloomfield Township has had its share of craziness of late.
In May, a grandmother Sandra Layne fatally shot her 17-year-old grandson.
Then on Sunday the latest drama unfolded. A cop was killed. The suspected gunman also died.
Ricky Coley, who appeared to be having a meltdown after a judge just recently granted his wife a divorce and ordered him out of his West Bloomfield home, reportedly began firing a weapon, WXYZ reported. He also lost custody of his child and had legal problems.
When West Bloomfield Police arrived, Coley allegedly shot officer Patrick O'Rourke, 39, dead. O'Rourke was married and the father of four young children.
A standoff ensued well into Monday. Police sent a robot into the house and brought in a large piece of construction equipment to tear down part of the home where authorities suspected Coley was hiding out.
Then in the early evening, police declared that Coley was dead, the station reported.
The cause of his death was not immediately known.
