This undated photo provided by the Milwaukee Police Department shows Officer Matthew Rittner. The 17-year police veteran was shot and killed as he served a warrant on Milwaukee's south side Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, becoming the city's third officer to be killed in the line of duty in eight months, officials said. (Courtesy of Milwaukee Police Department via AP)

MILWAUKEE - Prosecutors were reviewing evidence Friday to determine whether charges will be filed against a 26-year-old man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Milwaukee police officer.

Thirty-five-year-old Officer Matthew Rittner was shot Wednesday while serving a search warrant and Jordan P. Fricke was arrested soon after. Police said Fricke was the target of the warrant, and was wanted for the illegal sale of firearms and drugs.

Police said officers announced themselves as police, and Fricke fired several rounds, hitting Rittner.

Rittner was the third Milwaukee officer killed in the line of duty in eight months.

District Attorney John Chisholm said prosecutors have up to 72 hours from the time of a suspect's arrest to issue charges in a case, and they have the option of going to court to seek more time. Charges could come over the weekend.

Fricke's former sister-in-law, Denise Hicks, told WISN-TV that Fricke has done some bad things, but never hurt anybody.

"He's not a sociopath," Hicks said.

"What would make him do something like this?" she said. "I don't know. I still can't believe it."

A woman who answered the phone at Fricke's house on Friday hung up when reached by The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear whether Fricke had an attorney to speak on his behalf.

According to medical examiner reports, Fricke's mother killed herself when he was a child. His brother died after a night of drinking in 2015, when he sat or laid down in the middle of a street and was struck by a hit-and-run driver. The medical examiner ruled that death a suicide.

Fricke's father, Dallas Fricke, was not involved in his son's life. He was sentenced in 2005 to 11 years in prison for burglaries and possession of drugs and a firearm. Court records show he was released early on extended supervision, but died last year, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Fricke's longtime friend, Mario Barry, told the newspaper that Fricke lived with his grandparents, and continued to live with his grandmother after his grandfather died in recent years.

The city was holding a vigil Friday evening for Rittner. A procession Thursday took Rittner's casket from the medical examiner's office to a funeral home, passing the park where the 17-year police veteran was married two years ago.

News from © The Associated Press, 2019