The Associated Press
WABASHA, Minn. - The Wabasha County Attorney's office says if the man suspected of fatally shooting a Minnesota police officer last December had lived, he would have faced first-degree murder charges.
The prosecutor's office reviewed the state crime lab's investigation into the death of Lake City police Officer Shawn Schneider.
Schneider was shot outside a Lake City home on Dec. 19, after he and another officer responded to a domestic dispute. Authorities say the shooting suspect - 25-year-old Alan Sylte (SIHL'-tee) Jr. of Hager City, Wis. - then killed himself.
KAGE Radio reports the gun used to shoot Schneider was determined to be the same weapon Sylte used to kill himself.
According to the review, if Sylte were alive charges of first-degree murder would have been submitted to a Wabasha County grand jury.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)