Experts say gang members jockeying for the former position of a high-ranking B.C. crime boss murdered in Mexico last week could cause more killings.

Fifty-year-old Thomas Gisby was shot twice at close range at a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta. Police say Gisby was the head of his own gang called the Gisby Crime Group and was involved in drug trafficking as well as other illegal activities for two decades.

RCMP also considered Gisby B.C.'s number one public safety threat this year.

"He's a very, very prominent figure and that is going to create a void," RCMP Chief Supt. Mark Fleming told CTV News.

Mexican drug cartel expert and former Vancouver police officer Walter McKay says when a high-ranking gangster is killed others will fight to take his place.

"They decide, ‘this is the time to make my move.' So then the killings will increase… whether it's between other gangs or within the gang itself, until that deck is reshuffled and a more dominant player arrives," McKay said.

"This is a very brutal evolutionary process," he added. "Once it's over, it's the most ruthless, smartest and dangerous criminal who will lead this organization."

Fleming says Gisby's death was a targeted hit and warns the public to stay safe in light of potential retaliatory gang action.

"They just need to be aware of their surroundings. Street smart I would call it," he said.

Fleming says Gisby likely knew members from other gangs wanted to hurt him.

"He's certainly not unaware of the fact that people were, rivals were out to look for him, and that he faced the probability of violence in one form or another," he said.

In January, a gangster aligned with Gisby's faction was shot dead in a restaurant at Vancouver's Wall Centre.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander