[Ah Loo was] a bystander ... killed during a confrontation between two armed volunteers who were assisting with crowd control at the protest and a man who was carrying an AR-15-style rifle and was dressed in all black. The volunteers drew their guns after the armed man removed the rifle from his backpack and began running toward the crowd, holding his weapon in a “firing position,” the police said. One of them fired three times, wounding the gunman and also striking Mr. Ah Loo, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.... The police arrested the man with the rifle, who was identified as Arturo Gamboa, 24, and charged him with murder....
June 17, 2025
"Who would have thought that this island boy, growing up in Samoa in a hut, would design something that was in L.A, Fashion Week, Australian Fashion Week and in Buckingham Palace?"
Said Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, quoted in "'Project Runway' Designer Is Fatally Shot During Utah 'No Kings' Protest/Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, a Samoan-born fashion designer, was participating in an anti-Trump protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday when he was shot by a man working security, the police said" (NYT).
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44 comments:
Kyle Rittenhouse: Murderer
Two liberals wildly shooting unarmed bystanders: Armed Volunteers
Tragic. I'm sure the Times will find out, somehow, that it was Trump's fault.
Proving the Left learned nothing from Altamont, or has forgotten it down their vast memory hole.
@FormerLawClerk nails it. Clown nose on when it's their ideological fellow travelers. Clown nose off when it's not.
This is going to be an interesting trial, if it gets to that. The published video shows Gamboa doing nothing of the sort.
The No Kings organizers should be sued for wrongful death and gross negligence. Not wanting the SLCPD to provide public safety at the event was a bad decision. Hiring Antifa to fill the security gap was even worse. It was criminally negligent.
"...The published video shows Gamboa doing nothing of the sort..."
I hadn't seen that. If it's the case, somebody's in big trouble. The videos are what arguably saved Rittenhouse by making his self-defense claim patently obvious. SLC is a funny place though, there's not much middle there, it's either Mormons or blue hairs with ink & fishing tackle accessories. Jury selection is going to be a real tug of war.
The shooter wasn't "working security" he was there to intimidate counterrevolutionary counterprotesters. See Kyle Rittenhouse for an example of how he should be treated.
Also, remember, this is in Utah. Open carry is allowed just about everywhere.
They're going to let the murderer off because he had a security badge? Hm. Nobody should be firing warning shots into an unarmed crowd. Not cops, not security, not those carrying who want to play hero. Charge the actual murderer and let justice be done. Send a message. Hold your fire, and if YOU kill innocents you will be charged. Too many people with guns not clear on the rules today.
Open carry is allowed just about everywhere.
---------
Open carry is fine. Taking it out and plinking the life out of someone in error is not.
Open carry is allowed just about everywhere.
But not "open season" on protesters or bystanders. Unlike cops this gunslinger has no qualified immunity and unless it was obvious self-defense people should be imprisoned for this.
Wait, what? Who fired the bullet that killed the bystander? Who got arrested? I don't understand.
It's always interesting to see who thinks they need armed security, especially when they think everybody else should wait for the cops to arrive.
Steve Austin ... yeah, the reporting on this from the DNC-adjacent media is deliberately confusing because the guy wandering around in black with the scary black rifle was most likely connected with Antifa. It was Blue on Blue (and I don't mean cops)
What's this "peacekeeper" crap? Why use a word like that? It sounds like "volunteer security guard" shot the wrong person and killed him. Or, "vigilante," if you wish.
Steve Austin, yes, you are correct. That is exactly what happened.
"According to Gamboa's probable cause statement, the peacekeepers said they were assigned to assist the protest in ensuring everyone’s safety, and it's unclear their specific relation to the event.
“Citizens of Utah can act in self-defense and defend other people, but the status of a peacekeeper has no special meaning,” (Utah attorney) Simms said."
Steve Austin, assigned by whom?
The tortured language the "peacekeeping" organization puts out. "In a statement released on Monday, Utah 50501 wrote:
"It is with profound heartbreak that we acknowledge the passing of Afa Ah Loo, a peaceful protestor who was fatally shot during Saturday's 50501 protest in Salt Lake City.
During the protest an individual was spotted holding an AR-15 style weapon. Our team of safety volunteers, who have been selected because of their military, first responder, and other relevant de-escalation experience, believed that there was an imminent threat to the protestors and took action. The safety volunteer who responded to the individual and who was questioned by police is a military veteran. The person currently in custody was apprehended thanks to a protestor who saw the rifle and brought it to police attention.
We are mourning Afa Ah Loo with everything we have, and we are holding his family and friends in our hearts. Afa's name, courage, and commitment to his people will never be forgotten. We express our dearest and deepest sympathy to all those who knew and loved him.
The investigation into these events is still currently ongoing. At this time, SLCPD has not chosen to charge any of the volunteers. We want to thank the SLCPD, first responders, and everyone else for their quick actions on this difficult day.""
What???? "De-escalation?" You "de-escalated" a bullet into a bystander's brain. I don't care if you say "veteran" or "first responder" a hundred times. I'm a veteran, too, and I haven't shot anyone, nor do I possess any particular expertise at not shooting the wrong person. Apparently, neither did you! I'm normally sympathetic toward people who have to make decisions in a chaotic and violent environment, but it's not clear to me that this was. One person fired three times, two of those shots hit, and one hit someone who had nothing to do with this.
The bullshit language makes me extremely irritated and unwilling to give these people any slack. The facts of the case should determine the outcome, not bullshit.
@kirk parker Good question! I'm reading the local TV news website in SLC, KUTV. It's not clear who the security guards are and why they were there.
" Gamboa was known in the community for being an activist and punk rocker.
Konrad Keele described Gamboa ..
"Arturo goes to a lot of protests — most of the protests," Keele said. "From the videos I’ve seen, it looks like he was a young kid that went to a protest open-carrying, which he has done before. He understands weapons. He knows how to handle them... The gun was pointed at the ground, from all the videos I’ve seen.""
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/northern-utah/murder-suspect-described-as-a-punk-rocker-who-often-open-carries-a-firearm-at-protests
@gilbar and that's that.
SLC has a mess on their hands for this. Based on the video, the rifle carrier's actions don't match what the "peacekeepers" said. He didn't start to run until they shot at him. Was he "scary" looking all in black with a rifle. Sure, that's how he attended other protests. Cosplayers thinking they are part of the revolution shooting each other up.
"Don't take your guns to town, son
Leave your guns at home, Bill
Don't take your guns to town"
This write up is one reason I despise the NYT's. Its so deliberately deceptive. So private citizens, belonging to a violent organization - antifa - are toting guns around during a protest, and get a shootout. And the NYT's says thats "assisting with crowd control"!
"The police arrested the man with the rifle, who was identified as Arturo Gamboa, 24, and charged him with murder"
Huh? Wha? There were various people's with "rifles". Who is Gamboa? Was he the mysterious man in black running toward the crowd? Or was he working "security"? And what connection do any of these people to law enfrocement?
Assisting who?
"One of them fired three times, wounding the gunman and also striking Mr. Ah Loo".
OK, so he killed Mr. Loo and wounded the mysterious "gunman". Why isn't The killer described as a "Gunman"? This reminds me the BLM/Antifa riots where Rittenhouse was being shot at by "antifa crowd security" tried to run away and killed 2 of them.
"The investigation into these events is still currently ongoing. At this time, SLCPD has not chosen to charge any of the volunteers."
OK, so the people who killed Loo and wounded the "Gunman" weren't arrested, just the man in black who was supposedly "a threat".
@RCOCEAN II
You are going through the same process I did. Yes, it's all bullshit.
Always worth it to have a collective leftist tantrum rally.
right leftists?
If you show up looking like an antifa terrorist - which is what antifa is - a terrorist organization - you might cause trouble.
Now - thanks to your antifa ass-hole-ism - an innocent person is dead.
They had an interview with Arturo a few years ago where he was talking about the "system" intentionally being built on black and brown bodies.
"This is exactly how the system is meant to function. The American system is a steam train that’s always been fueled by black and brown bodies."
Maybe they should ask themselves if they are the baddies.
I prefer Larry Correia's take:
Here in Utah at the democratic No-Kings-But-Queens-Are-Cool-I-Guess Rally, one democrat freaked out and shot another democrat because a third democrat thought the second democrat was going to shoot democrats.
This is of course Trump's fault and republicans should all feel bad.
Once again, the primary focus is on blaming the other team rather than the actual tragedy. Is there real joy in being a meat puppet for a beta version of an AI algorithm?
During the protest an individual was spotted holding an AR-15 style weapon. Our team of safety volunteers, who have been selected because of their military, first responder, and other relevant de-escalation experience, believed that there was an imminent threat to the protestors and took action. The safety volunteer who responded to the individual and who was questioned by police is a military veteran. The person currently in custody was apprehended thanks to a protestor who saw the rifle and brought it to police attention.
Sounds to me like trigger-happy self-appointed Antifa gunmen shot a couple of their own people. We need a lot more information about this situation.
We can't trust the Salt Lake City authorities either. This is a job for the state to investigate. Not many people know that Salt Lake City proper has become majority non-Mormon, and many of those are leftists. The mayors of Salt Lake have been far-left Democrats for a number of years now, and certainly can be expected to do their best to protect Antifa and point fingers at blameless conservatives.
The "peacekeepers" are armed ANTIFA, just like their "medics" are actually thugs. The guy with the rifle is also a pro-ANTIFA protester who often open carries when participating in protests. One of the "peacekeepers" shot at him and killed an unarmed protester by accident.
This is what happens when you pretend your movement is an "autonomous" structure when it is really a strictly hierarchial dictatorship of the few witholding information from other participants, and when your cause attracts the paranoid, the careless, and the addled.
Gamboa was probably locked up for felony murder because he was unable to make a coherent statement. For the non-legally-fluent, felony murder is a concept under which, if you are committing a felony and someone dies, even as a rather indirect result, you are guilty of murdering them just as if you had personally killed them.
I guess the underlying felony here is some kind of aggravated assault, based on the "peacekeepers" saying Gamboa was running at the crowd brandishing his rifle.
Utah has a Stand-Your-Ground law, in addition to traditional self-defense. I can't find a statute that says Stand-Your-Ground exempts you from arrest at the scene, but maybe there is a written or de-facto police or prosecutorial policy to that effect.
So you've got the "peacekeepers" telling their version, and Gamboa unable to put together a coherent version on account of the holes in him, and the result is one Gamboa cuffed to a hospital bed, and two "peacekeepers" at large.
JSM
Imagine the red-letter 100-point newspaper headlines and constant TV "Special Reports" and grandstanding Democrat politicians we would be seeing today, if this had been a Tea Party protest or MAGA rally, and self-appointed armed "peacekeepers" shot and killed a couple of their own compatriots in this manner.
Joe Bar said...
This is going to be an interesting trial, if it gets to that. The published video shows Gamboa doing nothing of the sort.
6/17/25, 7:57 AM
Do you have a link to video? This story is bizarre. Seems like a bunch of hoodlums made a protest. Organizers allowed some of them to carry guns. One guy who was not a designated gun guy also had a gun. Presumably that guy is pro-Antifa and was not threatening anyone because he is down with the cause. Two of the guys with guns probably have no meaningful training in firearms (a veteran? Sure. What does that mean? Given the events I assume not a combat veteran. Maybe he's the guy who washed the dishes?). They saw a guy with a gun they did not recognize and shot him. No understand of gun safety rule #4.
Sounds like they charge the shooter with homicide. Why did they not arrest the shooter before clarifying the situation?
https://police.slc.gov/2025/06/15/slcpd-provides-update-on-downtown-shooting-investigation-2/
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.
As officers approached, 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.
Paramedics took Gamboa to the hospital. Detectives later booked Gamboa into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a charge of murder.
Officers also detained two men who were wearing high-visibility neon green vests and carrying handguns.
These men were apparently part of the event’s peacekeeping team.
During interviews, detectives learned the two peacekeepers saw Gamboa move away from the crowd and move into a secluded area behind a wall – behavior 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.
Witnesses reported Gamboa instead lifted the rifle and began running toward the crowd gathered on State 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.
Detectives have not been able to determine, at this time, why Gamboa pulled out his rifle and began to manipulate it or why he ran from the peacekeepers when they confronted him.
The peacekeepers immediately attempted to provide aid to the injured bystander.
Detectives are still actively investigating this case, to include the actions of the peacekeepers.
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.
Video here. Doesn't look like Gamboa had a gun out. He looks like an innocent victim in an open carry state.
https://www.fox13now.com/news/fox-13-investigates/new-video-of-salt-lake-city-protest-shooting-appears-to-contradict-police
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