An innocent bystander who was critically injured in a shooting at a “No Kings” demonstration in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday has died.
The bystander was identified as Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, a fashion designer from Samoa, according to police. Gunshots on Saturday sent hundreds of protesters running, some hiding behind barriers and fleeing into parking garages and nearby businesses, police said in a statement.
Police believe Ah Loo was “participating in the demonstration and appears to have been an innocent bystander who was not the intended target of the gunfire.”
Authorities have arrested Arturo Gamboa, 24. Gamboa was taken into custody on Saturday night on a murder charge, Salt Lake City police Chief Brian Redd said at a June 15 news conference.
Ah Loo was shot after an unidentified man, believed to be part of a peacekeeping team for the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City, shot at Gamboa, who was allegedly brandishing a rifle at demonstrators. The other man apparently struck both Gamboa and Ah Loo, who later died at the hospital, authorities said Sunday.
“The incident began at approximately 7:56 p.m. when a sergeant assigned to the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) Motor Squad reported hearing gunfire near 151 South State Street,” the SLCPD said in a news release.
“Officers quickly moved in to secure the scene and search for any active threats [and] found a man who had been shot and immediately began life-saving efforts.”
Detectives haven’t yet determined why Gamboa pulled out a rifle or ran from the peacekeepers, but they accused him of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death.
“Around 8 p.m., officers and detectives — including members of SLCPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) and Gang Unit — were flagged down near 102 South 200 East,” the SLCPD stated. “There, they found a man crouching among a group of people with a gunshot wound. That man is identified as 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa, who was dressed in all black clothing and wearing a black mask.”
Authorities said as officers approached Gamboa, community members pointed out a nearby firearm, which was described as an AR-15-style rifle.
“Officers also located a gas mask, black clothing, and a backpack in close proximity. The items were collected and processed by the SLCPD Crime Lab,” police added.
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Redd said the man, believed to be part of the peacekeeping team and dressed in a neon green vest, fired three shots from a handgun at Gamboa, inflicting a relatively minor injury but fatally shooting Ah Loo. Redd did not share the man’s name.
“Officers also detained two men who were wearing high-visibility neon green vests and carrying handguns,” the police department added. “These men were apparently part of the event’s peacekeeping team.”
Authorities said that during interviews, they learned the two alleged peacekeepers “saw Gamboa move away from the crowd and move into a secluded area behind a wall — behaviour they found suspicious.”
“One of the peacekeepers told detectives he saw Gamboa pull out an AR-15-style rifle from a backpack and begin manipulating it. The peacekeepers drew their firearms and ordered Gamboa to drop the weapon.”
According to witnesses, Gamboa allegedly lifted the rifle and began running toward the crowd gathered on the street, holding the weapon in a firing position.
“In response, one of the peacekeepers fired three rounds. One round struck Gamboa, while another tragically wounded Mr. Ah Loo,” police said. “Detectives have not been able to determine, at the time, why Gamboa pulled out his rifle and began to manipulate it or why he ran from the peacekeepers when they confronted him.”
Volunteer peacekeeping teams are common for protests, said Sarah Parker, a national co-ordinator for 50501 Movement, which was a partner in the “No Kings” protest. But the organizers ask attendees, including the peacekeepers, not to bring weapons, she said. Still, Parker said they stopped what could’ve been a larger mass casualty event.
“Our safety team did as best as they could in a situation that is extremely sad and extremely scary,” said Parker.
Detectives are still actively investigating the case, including the actions of the peacekeepers, according to police.
“Detectives have developed probable cause that Gamboa acted under circumstances that showed a depraved indifference to human life, knowingly engaged in conduct that created a grave risk of death and ultimately caused the death of an innocent community member,” the SLCPD added.
“Our detectives are now working to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident,” Salt Lake City police Chief Redd added. “We will not allow this individual act to create fear in our community.”
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the 39-year-old man who was killed, and with the many community members who were impacted by this traumatic incident,” Redd said. “When this shooting happened, the response of our officers and detectives was fast, brave, and highly co-ordinated. It speaks to the caliber of this great department and our law enforcement partners.”
Ah Loo, known as Afa, a husband and father to two children, was a fashion designer who leaned into his Samoan heritage, according to a GoFundMe page organized to support his family. Ah Loo founded Creative Pacific, an event celebrating the diversity of the Pacific Islands, with workshops, artists and a fashion runway. He was on Season 17 of the fashion design reality TV show Project Runway.
“Afa was proud of the life he built with his wife, Laura, and their two beautiful children, Vera and Isaac. This unimaginable loss has left a profound void in their lives,” the GoFundMe page read. “Family and friends are coming together to raise funds to help Laura with funeral expenses and to ease the immediate financial burdens she now faces.”
The GoFundMe post has raised more than US$127,600 of its goal of $210,000 from more than 3,200 donations as of Monday morning.
Utah State Representative Verona Mauga, D-Salt Lake County, said Ah Loo was well-known within the Pacific Islander community.
“Afa is a Samoan fashion designer, the first Samoan to make it on Project Runway,” she said. “And that was a big deal, to have someone of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage be able to break into the fashion industry, and he’s done amazing work for fabulous people. ”
Mauga said she was with Ah Loo at the “No Kings” rally earlier in the night, before protesters marched through downtown, according to KSL TV.
“Afa is a person who believed in equity and equality for all people and all communities. He believed that everyone was deserving of basic human rights,” Mauga said. “And that’s why he was there. He was with his community and he was with people he cared about, marching and rallying for all of those things that make our community, like, really great.”
Mauga said she wasn’t with Ah Loo when the shooting happened and that she was walking with other elected officials at the time. She said Ah Loo was with a group of friends when the shots were fired and many people in the crowd took off running.
“When they didn’t hear back from Afa, that’s when everyone realized something wrong may have happened,” she said.
Mauga said Ah Loo recently became an American citizen and voted in his first election in 2024.
“He was so excited and proud to do that. Afa wanted to be very much a part of what America is and a part of the American dream,” she added.
— With files from The Associated Press