Police fear gang violence in Kamloops

More than 20 additional police officers from Kamloops City RCMP, the Central Interior Traffic Services along with uniformed members of Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Gang Task Force will make a visible presence in Kamloops over the next 2 days as the wake and funeral for Archie LePretre, Kamloops first homicide victim of 2011, starts Wednesday afternoon.

The increased police presence was prompted by a heightened potential for retaliatory violence between members of a Lower Mainland based criminal gang and members of a rival group who reside in Kamloops.

LePretre, a 22-year-old man from the Vancouver area, was with his Kamloops cousin, playing in the basketball court at Stewart Wood Elementary School late in the afternoon on March 22, 2011. The two young men were confronted by three masked men armed with knives and a baseball bat. Following a brief verbal exchange, LePretre and his cousin were attacked by the three suspects. LePretre suffered fatal injuries in the violent confrontation and was pronounced dead upon arrival at Royal Inland Hospital.

Archie LePretre’s 23-year-old cousin, who was also injured in the attack, is a member of the Lower Mainland based criminal gang. Police have indicated that the attack was prompted by a pre-existing rivalry and hostility between this gang and members of the second gang who have ties to Kamloops.

In addition to preventing further hostilities from erupting during the wake and funeral, police will also be gathering gang intelligence during their high visibility presence in Kamloops