Who Was Arthur Folasa Ah Loo? Project Runway Star Shot Dead During Crossfire at Anti-Trump 'No Kings' Day Rally in Utah
A Project Runway star was killed after a man pulled out a rifle during an anti-Trump protest in Utah on Saturday. Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, was struck by official peacekeepers during Saturday's No Kings protest in Salt Lake City. The incident occurred after peacekeepers spotted another protester, Arturo Gamboa, 24, pulling out a gun at the crowd.
The peacemakers ordered Gamboa to put down the weapon but he did not comply. As Gamboa charged toward the crowd with his rifle raised in a firing position, the peacekeeping unit responded by opening fire. Ah Loo was unintentionally hit in the chaos situation and the gunshot hit him and killed him.
Death in Crossfire
The fashion designer, who is survived by his wife and two young children, later died at a nearby hospital, officials confirmed on Sunday. Police arrested the suspected gunman on Saturday evening on a murder charge, though investigators are still unsure what prompted him to pull out a rifle.
Ah Loo, originally from Samoa, had recently become a U.S. citizen and cast his first vote in the 2024 election.
He joined the No Kings protest because he "believed everyone was deserving the basic human rights," Utah Representative Verona Mauga told KSL-TV.
Ah Loo, loving known as "Afa", was a husband, father of two, and a fashion designer who proudly embraced his Samoan roots, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help his family. He founded Creative Pacific, an event designed to celebrate Pacific Islander culture through workshops, art, and a fashion runway.
Ah Loo was also a contestant on Season 17 of the reality TV show Project Runway.
The peacekeeper involved, wearing a neon green vest, fired three rounds from a handgun at Gamboa, causing him a minor injury but tragically striking and killing Ah Loo.
Authorities have not revealed the peacekeeper's identity.
Family and Friend Devastated
Utah Rep. Verona Mauga told the TV station that Ah Loo, an innocent bystander at Saturday's rally, was with friends when gunfire erupted. The shooting created panic among the crowd, with hundreds of demonstrators fleeing—many ducking behind barriers or running into parking garages and nearby stores, according to a police statement.
"That's a gun. Come on, come on, get out," someone can be heard shouting in a video posted to social media that appears to show the events.
Mauga added that the designer's friends began to suspect something was wrong when they couldn't reach him after the chaos broke out. "Afa is a person who believed in equity and equality for all people and all communities," she said.
"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 shooter and another person wearing a neon vest allegedly spotted Gamboa breaking away from the group of protesters in downtown Salt Lake City around 8 p.m. on Saturday, police said. He reportedly moved behind a wall and pulled out a rifle.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said that when the two vest-wearing men confronted Gamboa with their handguns drawn, Gamboa raised the rifle into a shooting stance and charged toward the crowd.
At that point, one of the men fired three shots, striking both Gamboa and Ah Loo.
SWAT medics quickly began life-saving efforts on Ah Loo before firefighters and paramedics took over. The medical examiner will determine the official cause and manner of Ah Loo's death.
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