Windmill Market sells pumpkins to help O'Rourkes

Need pumpkins? Want to support a worthy cause? Look no farther than the Windmill Market in West Bloomfield Township.

Located at 7275 Cooley Lake Road, the market is donating all proceeds from the sales of its $2.99 pumpkins this month to the family of fallen West Bloomfield Police Officer Patrick O’Rourke, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on Sept. 9 while responding with other officers to reports of a gunshot at a residence near Pontiac Trail and Halsted Road.

“We’re always helping out the community that we are involved in,” said Mazen Shaba, owner of the Windmill Market. “We thought because of the situation that happened in West Bloomfield, with the O’Rourke family losing their father, this would be a good opportunity to help them out and do something good and show that we care — and not only that we care, but also that everybody in the community cares about our own people. He was always there helping us.”

Shaba said the response from the community so far — the fund-raiser started on Friday, Sept. 28 — has been positive, with 38 pumpkins sold, including a pair of larger ones that brought in donations of $45 and $60, respectively.

“At the end of the month, we are going to add everything up, write a check and take it to the West Bloomfield Police Department,” Shaba said.

The man who police say shot and killed O’Rourke, 50-year-old township resident Ricky Coley, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at his home following a 20-hour standoff with law enforcement on Sept. 10.

O’Rourke is survived by his wife, Amy, and his four children, Eileen, Mary, Andrea, and Stephen.

Learn more about the Windmill Market at windmillmkt.com or call the Windmill Market at 248-360-4441 for more information on the fund-raiser.

Donations can also be made to the family through the Patrick O’Rourke Family Trust by visiting westbloomfieldhero.com.