The man Utah police describe as an innocent bystander slain after gunfire broke out at a No Kings rally yesterday in Salt Lake City has been identified as Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a contestant on Project Runway in 2019.
The shooter was identified by police as a “peacekeeper” who began firing when an attendee wearing a black mask at the rally pointed an AR-15-style rifle at the crowd.
That man is identified as 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa, who was dressed in all black clothing and wearing a black mask.
“The preliminary investigation shows Ah Loo was participating in the demonstration and appears to have been an innocent bystander who was not the intended target of the gunfire,” Salt Lake City police said in a statement.
The incident began shortly before 8 p.m. when Gamboa allegedly pulled out an AR-15-style rifle from a backpack and “begin manipulating it.” Two men described by police as “peacekeepers” saw Gamboa “move away from the crowd and move into a secluded area behind a wall – behavior they found suspicious.”
“In response, one of the peacekeepers fired three rounds,” police said. “One round struck Gamboa, while another tragically wounded Mr. Ah Loo.”
Fashion designer Ah Loo was from Samoa and had recently become an American citizen. He is believed to be the first Samoan to compete on Project Runway.
In an interview with Salt Lake television station KSL-TV, Utah Rep. Verona Mauga, D-Salt Lake County, said Ah Loo, known as Afa, was “well-known within the Pacific Islander community for breaking into the fashion world.”
“Afa is a Samoan fashion designer, the first Samoan to make it on ‘Project Runway,’” Mauga 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, a friend of Ah Loo who had been with the designer at the rally in Pioneer Park earlier in the day, told KSL, “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. 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.”
The 39-year-old Ah Loo is survived by his wife Laura and their two children. A Go Fund Me page has been set up by family friends to help with funeral costs.
“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,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd in a statement. “When this shooting happened, the response of our officers and detectives was fast, brave, and highly coordinated. It speaks to the caliber of this great department and our law enforcement partners.”
According to the police statement, the incident began at approximately 7:56 p.m. when a sergeant assigned to the SLCPD Motor Squad reported hearing gunfire. “As panic spread throughout the area, hundreds of people ran for safety, hiding in parking garages, behind barriers, and going into nearby businesses.
“Officers found a man who had been shot and immediately began life-saving efforts,” the statement says, adding, “Despite those efforts, the man died at the hospital. The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner will determine the official cause and manner of death.”
Gamboa, who was dressed in all black clothing and wearing a black mask, was found “crouching among a group of people with a gunshot wound.”
Mauga told KSL that despite his renown following Project Runway, Ah Loo was always willing to design clothes for family and friends.
“He brought joy and laughter to the community, and he shared his art and his talents so freely with people,” Mauga said.
