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Man shot dead in front of Kamloops hotel may be case of mistaken identity: RCMP

Rex Gill, 41, was not previously known to Kamloops police unlike second shooting victim
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Rex Gill, 41, was a Summerland resident shot outside the Kamloops Comfort Inn and Suites on Jan. 23. His homicide was considered related to a similar shooting that took place the same morning in Kamloops. RCMP are now saying that this is possibly a case of mistaken identity. Photo from Facebook

A Summerland man shot dead in front of a Kamloops hotel in late January may be a case of mistaken identity, according to RCMP.

Rex Gill, 41, was found outside of the Kamloops Comfort Inn and Suites suffering from gunshot wounds early on the morning of Jan. 23. Gill’s injuries proved fatal and RCMP were investigating his homicide in relation to a similar shooting that took place outside of the Super 8 Motel in Kamloops the same morning.

Related: Penticton man killed in Kamloops shooting

The other victim, Cody Marcel Mathieu, was known to Kamloops police and also succumbed to his injuries. In a Feb. 19 press release issued by the Kamloops RCMP, they state that while Mathieu, 33, was known to RCMP due to his involvement with the Kamloops drug trade, Gill was not.

“Rex Gill has no known connection to the Kamloops drug trade. We are exploring the possibility that this might have been a case of mistaken identity,” the release read.

Related: UPDATE: Kamloops shootings linked to organize crime

The release added that suspects have been identified in relation to both of these ongoing murder investigations, which are being treated as a priority by the Special Crimes Unit.

The Kamloops RCMP have seen a rise in violent crime related to the drug trade in recent years, but say the general public is not being targeted.

“We are in the middle of an opioid crisis, which is largely caused and fuelled by organized crime,” it was said in the release.

“We have seen a trend in Kamloops of high levels of violence occurring with the local participants of our drug community. Many of these crimes are being committed by people against their own allegiances.”

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Jordyn Thomson | Reporter
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