Photo: Michael Potestio

An RCMP officer at the scene of a gang-related shooting in May outside the Ramada Inn on Columbia Street West.

The two main players in a local gang war are either in jail or on bail, but Kamloops’ top cop is not yet prepared to say the threat to public safety has subsided.

“We still feel that there is a risk,” RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley told Castanet Kamloops.

He said there are other people involved in the conflict that police continue to investigate.

In May, Pelley warned the public of a conflict over the local illicit drug trade playing out on Kamloops streets at the centre of which were Christopher Hunt, 25, and Cameron Ronald Cole, 40. The two were believed the main targets of escalating violence connected to the conflict between drug traffickers.

Police warned the public to stay away from the two men and linked a series of fires between March and April and consecutive shootings in the first days of May to the gang violence.

Major players accounted for

Speaking this week to Castanet Kamloops, Pelley said that risk persists more than six months later, despite the fact that Cole is on strict bail conditions and Hunt is behind bars.

Hunt is serving a four-year sentence in federal prison stemming from robbery, drug possession and firearm charges from 2019. He was sentenced in August in Port Coquitlam provincial court.

Cole is facing drug trafficking charges stemming from a police raid in Batchelor Heights in May 2023. Following the police warning he would be the target of an apparent failed gangland assassination attempt in July. He is also facing weapons charges relating to guns allegedly found by police in his vehicle following that attempt on his life.

Pelley said the drug trade conflict in Kamloops continues to have police concerned for the safety of the public and for Cole and Hunt’s associates, but Mounties are not currently making any warnings to avoid any other individuals involved in the dispute.

“We are aware of other individuals involved in the conflict which we are currently assessing, and we anticipate forwarding charge recommendations on other individuals embedded in the localized drug conflict that are going to be forthcoming,” Pelley said.

In addition to Cole and Hunt, Pelley said others involved in the conflict who police have targeted are also either in custody or on bail — but that doesn’t cover all the players.

“There's a fine line with respect to who we say is an associate or peripheral,” Pelley said, adding that he cannot disclose approximately how many others are believed to be involved.

More charges expected

Pelley said the Kamloops RCMP will publicly announce charges connected to the conflict as they are approved by the Crown. He said his officers are investigating several related cases.

“The drug conflict is still connected to multiple investigations that are ongoing and before the courts," he said. “We will continue to monitor this conflict and be very diligent on the forefront of it.”

According to the Kamloops RCMP’s third quarter report for 2024, police have seen successes in suppressing gang violence and disrupting criminal networks, contributing to an improvement in public safety, which remains a top priority.

Pelley said police continue to ask the public to report any suspicious activity they see to the RCMP.

“We have no place for drug trafficking violence or disregard for human life in our city," he said. "We'll do everything we can to help keep our streets safe, and request from the public their support and cooperation."

Photo: RCMP

(Left) Justin Hunt, 25, and Cameron Cole, 40, are at the centre of a local drug trade conflict, according to police. Hunt is currently behind bars while Cole is facing charges and free on bail conditions.