RCMP in Kamloops, B.C., are calling in reinforcements to help oversee the funeral of a gang member allegedly killed by members of a rival gang.

More than 20 extra officers, including members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Gang Task Force, will have a visible presence on the streets of the city over the next two days for the wake and funeral of Archie LePretre.

Police fear a retaliatory violence after LePretre, 22, died last Friday, following a confrontation with three masked men armed with knives and a baseball bat as he and his cousin played basketball on a school court.

RCMP said LePretre's cousin, who was also injured in the attack, is a member of a Vancouver-area gang, and police believe the attack was linked to hostilities between this and another group.

There are three suspects in the attack, described as aboriginal men in their 20s, all of whom they believe to be members of the rival gang, police said.

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