The two Canadian men gunned down in Mexico were involved in the drug trade, B.C. RCMP said Monday.
Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans were gunned down early Sunday morning in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, and were known to the RCMP's Integrated Gang Task Force.
"We have been aware of them for some time now," Sgt. Shinder Kirk told The Canadian Press. "We also knew of some of their recent activities in Mexico as well, centering around the drug trade."
A statement from the Mexican government said police there are focusing on the murders being part of organized crime.
"These deaths appear to have been a matter of settling a score; nevertheless, the appropriate Mexican authorities are conducting an investigation to shed light on the case," a statement from the Mexican embassy said.
Jalisco state prosecutor Guillermo Diaz said the two men were killed at the apartment building they were staying in.
Witnesses said a lone gunman approached the men near the building, shot Kendall and then chased and shot Ivans near the pool area.
Diaz said Ivans was carrying a gun, but was not able to fire it.
Diaz said witnesses told authorities two more gunmen arrived on scene and repeatedly shot the Canadians.
RCMP said they didn't have any information affiliating Ivans or Kendall with a specific organized crime group.
"(But) if you're going to get involved in this type of activity, it's not glamorous and violence is not that far behind," Kirk Said.
Ivans was convicted of trafficking in B.C. in 2002, but was only fined.
Ioan Grillo, a freelance reporter who covers crime in Mexico, told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel that the men's assailants were using high-powered rifles as well as pistols.
Grillo said the killing has the markings of the gangland-style executions used throughout Mexico by organized crime.
Police later found three vehicles registered to the dead Canadians, including a pickup truck, a Hummer and a Mercedes Benz. The pickup truck had Canadian plates.
On Facebook, a memorial page has been started for Ivans and Kendall, asking people to share "the great memories of two of the most amazing people that ever lived."
With files from The Canadian Press
