UPDATE: 6 p.m.
Friends have identified one of the shooting victims as 42-year-old Rex Gill of Penticton, B.C.
Gill leaves behind two children.
“The unthinkable happened today. I lost my first love and the father of my children,” his ex-wife wrote on Facebook.
“We may have not worked out in a relationship but we always stayed friends and supported each other. Thank you for my beautiful boys.”
She told Global Okanagan that Gill had recently moved to Kamloops for an employment opportunity.
Gill is being remembered by friends as an outgoing, friendly and popular man.
He spent several years as the bus operator for Coyote Cruises, which is owned and operated by the Penticton Indian Band.
The business provides flotation devices and a shuttle bus service so tourists can float the Penticton River Channel, a popular summer tourist attraction.
“(Gill) and I started working at Coyote Cruises together back in 1993 and throughout that time, out of the last 25 years I think he’s worked about 19 of them,” said Gill’s best friend, Nicholas Kruger.
“Very outgoing. He had a very big personality,” he added.
“His bus was always known as the party bus and it was always the loudest, and he had the people cheering the most. He had a way to make people have fun no matter what.”
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Kruger said he is still processing the shocking news. He said he doesn’t have any information on why Gill would be involved in a shooting.
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“There’s just moments of sadness when I’m reading all the stories and seeing the pictures of him,” he said. “I can’t believe it still.”
UPDATE: 1 p.m.
Two separate shootings in Kamloops are now homicide investigations.
Kamloops RCMP say the two men found shot earlier this morning have died.
Police were called to two hotels: the Super 8 Hotel at 6:50 a.m., where a man was found with apparent gunshot wounds, and the Comfort Inn and Suites at 8:50 a.m., where another man was found shot. Both were found outside their respective hotels.
“Currently we have numerous police resources, both uniform and plain clothes officers investigating both incidents,” said Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jodi Shelkie.
“Given that both shootings happened within two hours of each other and in public places, we are asking the public to remain vigilant and mindful of any suspicious activity they may see in the community and report it to police.”
The names of the two men were not released.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP or Crimestoppers.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Kamloops RCMP say the search is on for suspects on Wednesday after two men were found suffering from gunshot wounds.
Police say at 6:50 a.m. they were called to the Super 8 Hotel in Valleyview for a man lying on the ground. It appeared he had been shot.
He was taken to a local hospital.
Then, at 8:50 a.m., police were called to the Comfort Inn and Suites on Rogers Way for another man who appeared to have been shot. He was also taken to hospital.
Police say that at this time, it’s unknown if the two incidents are related.
No suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made.
Some roads remain closed in the area.
More to come.
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