Protester shot and killed at 'No Kings' rally in Utah, police say
[June 16, 2025]
By JESSE BEDAYN
A man who was believed to be part of a peacekeeping team for the “No
Kings” protest in Salt Lake City shot at a person who was brandishing a
rifle at demonstrators, striking both the rifleman and a bystander who
later died at the hospital, authorities said Sunday.
Police took the alleged rifleman, Arturo Gamboa, 24, into custody
Saturday evening on a murder charge, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian
Redd said at a Sunday news conference. The bystander was 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 the 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 share the man'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.
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.
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In this image taken from video provided by the Salt Lake City Police
Department, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd speaks to the
media during a press conference Sunday, June 15, 2025, about a June
14 shooting incident at a demonstration in Salt Lake City. (Salt
Lake City Police Department via AP)
“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, California,
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.
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.
The shooter and another person in a neon vest allegedly saw Gamboa
separate from the crowd of marchers in downtown Salt Lake City, move
behind a wall and withdraw a rifle around 8 p.m., Redd said.
When the two men in vests confronted Gamboa with their handguns
drawn, witnesses said Gamboa raised his rifle into a firing position
and ran toward the crowd, said Redd.
That's when one of the men dressed in the vests shot three rounds,
hitting Gamboa and Ah Loo, said Redd. Gamboa, who police said didn't
have a criminal history, was wounded and treated before being booked
into jail.
Redd said that the peacekeepers’ actions are also part of the
investigation.
Police said they recovered an AR-15 style rifle, a gas mask and a
backpack at the scene.
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