Photo: Rex Gill Facebook

Homicide investigators in Kamloops are exploring the possibility that a Penticton man’s fatal shooting death could have been a case of mistaken identity.

The Kamloops RCMP said Tuesday 41-year-old Rex Gill has no known connection to the drug trade in the city. Gill was shot and killed at the Kamloops Comfort Inn and Suites on January 23.

“While we feel that while the attack was targeted, he was not likely the intended target,” said Cpl. Jodi Shelkie.

The news will probably come as no surprise to the many friends of Gill. The father of four was mourned widely in Penticton after his death, with Gill being remembered as a family man "with a huge heart."

RCMP say the other man gunned down at a different Kamloops hotel that day, Cody Mathieu, 31, was entangled in a spiraling drug war enveloping the city.

Investigators say they have identified suspects in both shootings, who they believe are a part of the local drug trade.

Shelkie declined to offer any more details on the investigation, but police say it remains “a priority.”