Project Runway star Afa Ah Loo smiled and shared gratitude in last video days before being shot dead at No Kings protest
Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, who went by Afa, spoke about gratitude and community in an interview just days before he was fatally shot at a No Kings protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
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Ah Loo, 39, was an innocent bystander hit by a stray bullet allegedly fired by a "peacekeeping" volunteer at the protest, police said. He later died in the hospital.
He had no connection to the gunman and was "not the intended target of the gunfire," according to the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Ah Loo, a father of two, was best known as a Samoan fashion designer who competed on Season 17 of Project Runway in 2019.
He finished in 13th place in the competition.
After the show, he continued his fashion career and worked with nonprofit organization Creative Pacific.
Days before the shooting, Ah Loo was seen smiling and speaking about how his Pacific Islander heritage relates to his work in a video interview shared on Facebook.
"Our people are very creative people," he said in the video interview by PacifikaByDesign shared on June 12.
"Now that we're here... Why don't we pull our people up with us and work together to make a name for ourselves and our people?
"It is difficult to work in spaces that you don't normally see our people in. But it is with grit and perseverance that we can get to where we are.
"We're slowly making our way there. We're still learning. We're grateful for people that have sacrificed their time and talents to help us."
Victim of SLC shooting at 'No Kings' protest dies after being hit in crossfire as security targeted 'man with AR-15'
Days after the interview, Ah Loo died in the hospital from his gunshot wounds after attending the No Kings march downtown.
Thousands of No Kings demonstrations broke out across America over the weekend to protest the Trump administration on the president's birthday.
The majority of No Kings rallies were peaceful and Ah Loo is believed to be the only fatality from the protests.
Terrifying footage showed protesters running from the gunfire as over 10,000 people gathered to protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
US Embassy New Zealand's statement
The US Embassy New Zealand released the following statement about Afa Ah Loo's death:
We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Arthur 'Afa' Folasa Ah Loo.
A celebrated Samoan fashion designer and creative force in the Pacific community, Afa's talent and vibrant cultural vision inspired many across the region and beyond.
A few years ago, the U.S. Embassy in New Zealand was honored to support Afa in showcasing his work and leading U.S. fashion and business workshops at the Pacific Fusion Fashion Show in Auckland.
Afa leaves behind a rich legacy in the artists he mentored and communities he uplifted. Our thoughts are with his ʻāiga, friends, and all who mourn his passing.
Source: US Embassy NZ
The unidentified man who shot Ah Loo told police he was a peacekeeper, meaning he was volunteering to help de-escalate conflict during the protest against President Donald Trump.
The gunman told cops he watched Arturo Roberto Gamboa, 24, acting suspiciously in the protest crowd before pulling a rifle out of his backpack, SLCPD Chief Brian Redd said on Sunday.
Gamboa charged toward protesters with his gun, which led the shooter to fire three shots at him, Redd said.
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The gunfire struck Ah Loo, who was in a nearby crowd, and Gamboa.
Gamboa was hospitalized for a minor bullet wound before he was arrested on suspicion of murder.
A tribute by the US Embassy of New Zealand remembered Ah Loo as "a celebrated Samoan fashion designer and creative force in the Pacific community.
"Afa's talent and vibrant cultural vision inspired many across the region and beyond," the embassy's statement on X said.
Ah Loo is survived by his wife and two young children.
A GoFundMe for Ah Loo's family has raised over $190,000 as of Monday afternoon.
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Kruse said that she and the actress began a company Priscilla Presley Partners in 2022. Kruse told the court that she spent 'a significant amount of money and time' working on projects for Priscilla to capitalize on from publicity of the Sofia Coppola biopic Priscilla, which was released in October of 2023. Priscilla's lawyer Singer said in 2024 that the star ceased working with Kruse when she found out 'Kruse and her associate were attempting to misappropriate Ms. Presley's assets and were engaging in other acts of wrongdoing.' In July 2024 Presley accused Kruse, Fialko, Sislyan and Walker Wright of financial elder abuse in a lawsuit, and 'forcing her into a form of indentured servitude' in a 'meticulously planned and abhorrent scheme.' Presley said she met Kruse in 2021 when Kruse ran a business selling Elvis memorabilia through an auction house. Kruse posed alongside Presley in an August 27, 2021 Instagram post in which she advertised a September 4, 2021 luncheon in Beverly Hills, California. The lawsuit claimed Kruse convinced Presley her former financial advisors were either 'deceitful or incompetent' - before allegedly duping her into signing contracts and forming companies which allowed her and her associates to get 80 per cent of her income - leaving Presley with 'just 20 percent of her own company.' Presley claimed the group left her with minority shares in companies they created which profited off her 'name, image and likeness'. The lawsuit was also against Priscilla Presley Partners, LLC. The lawsuit alleged funds from 2023 biopic Priscilla which starred Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny were also misappropriated and branded Kruse a 'con artist and pathological liar.' Presley also claimed her ex-business associates 'torpedoed' a deal for the star to get an ownership interest in a cosmetics company - but instead settled for a $300,000 upfront payment - which she says they put in their own bank accounts. The lawsuit claimed the associates were 'setting up new accounts at their preferred banks (and poisoning the relationship Presley had for many years with her financial institutions), adding themselves to her bank accounts, transferring funds between accounts (and to their own personal accounts), and entering into sham, insider transactions for their own benefit.' The lawsuit also claimed Kruse and associates took $40,000 out of an account for her son Navarone Garibaldi without authorization, tried to make deals related to the late Lisa Marie's estate and fraudulently charged Presley for moving and storage expenses. Presley sued Kruse for more than $1million in damages and wanted the contracts she signed with Kruse and the other defendants voided. Legal representatives for Kruse and Fialko told the Daily Mail at the time: 'The suit filed is a retaliatory lawsuit due to the one filed by Priscilla's business partners last year. 'We are confident that the facts will speak for themselves and justice will prevail. It saddens all of us who dropped our lives to provide aid to a woman who needed help and she is now attempting to use her celebrity status to ruin the lives of kind, hardworking people.'
