By JESSE BEDAYN, Associated Press
A man died after being shot when a peacekeeping team for the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City confronted a person who was brandishing a rifle at demonstrators, authorities said Sunday.
The alleged rifleman, Arturo Gamboa, 24, was also shot and was taken into custody on a murder charge, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said at a Sunday news conference.
The bystander who was killed was identified as Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, a fashion designer from Samoa.
Detectives don’t yet know 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. The Associated Press did not immediately find an attorney listed for Gamboa or contact information for his family in public records.
Redd said a man believed to be part of the peacekeeping team, 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 give the shooter’s name.
Volunteer peacekeeping teams are common for protests, said Sarah Parker, a national coordinator 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.
Utah has no prohibition against adults carrying concealed firearms in public. A permit is not required.
Ah Loo, known as Afa, was a husband and father to two children and 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.”
The gunshots sent hundreds of protesters running, some hiding behind barriers and fleeing into parking garages and nearby businesses, police said in a statement. “That’s a gun! Come on, come on, get out!” someone can be heard saying in a video posted to social media that appears to show the events.
“No Kings” protests swept across the country on Saturday, and organizers said millions rallied against what they described as President Donald Trump’s authoritarian tendencies.
Confrontations were largely isolated. In Riverside, Calif., authorities said a driver of an SUV struck a woman who was participating in a demonstration and sped away. The woman had “significant injuries” but was stable, police said, adding that they were still searching for the driver.
Also in California, a man was arrested on suspicion of making an online threat to shoot people at a Palm Springs “No Kings” rally.
Outside the Arizona statehouse, a social media video showed protesters Saturday jeering at and then skirmishing with a masked man, who eventually pulled out a handgun, causing the crowd to scatter. Another video showed Arizona Department of Public Safety officers taking the man into custody.
In the Salt Lake City incident, around 8 p.m. Saturday, the shooter and another person in a neon vest allegedly saw Gamboa separate from the crowd of marchers, move behind a wall and withdraw a rifle, Redd said.
When the two men in vests confronted him with their handguns drawn, Gamboa reportedly raised his rifle into a firing position and ran toward the crowd, said Redd.
That’s when one of the men in the vests shot three rounds, hitting Gamboa and Ah Loo, said Redd.
Police said Gamboa didn’t have a criminal history. He was treated for a gunshot wound before being booked into jail. Police said they recovered an AR-15 style rifle, a gas mask and a backpack at the scene.
Redd said that the peacekeepers’ actions are also part of the investigation.