Kamloops RCMP say multiple suspects have been identified after a targeted fatal shooting on Saturday night.

Detachment spokesperson Const. Crystal Evelyn confirms the victim and suspected shooter knew each other.

On Saturday night just before 8 p.m., a man in his 20s was found dead in a room at the Howard Johnson Inn, at 530 Columbia Street, after police responded to a report of shots fired.

After responding, police cordoned off that motel as well as two rooms at the Star Lodge, located at 775 Columbia Street West, as part of the investigation.

Evelyn says the killing is believed to be related to the low-level drug trade.

Mounties say there has been a “steady increase” in violence and other incidents in Kamloops that are tied to low-level drug dealers and debt collectors.

“Although the circumstances surrounding this murder are still under investigation, it’s the same type of violence we have experienced in Kamloops before, involving low-end participants of the illegal drug trade who use violence as a business practice,” says Sgt. Nestor Baird with the Kamloops RCMP Serious Crime Unit.

“If you are involved in the drug trade at any level, now is the time to rethink the choices you are making and to reach out to other people and agencies that can help you leave that lifestyle,” Baird says.

Saturday night’s shooting was the first homicide in Kamloops of 2021.

Anyone with information on the killing is now being asked to call Kamloops RCMP, and to reference file number 2021-4173.