Police and protest organisers say the veteran who accidentally killed a protester at a Salt Lake City “No Kings” gathering while trying to stop a man who was thought to be armed was a “safety volunteer” for the event.
The safety volunteer, whose name has not been made public, fired three shots at Arturo Gamboa, 24, who was allegedly waving a gun at the crowd on Saturday. Police say that Gamboa and the attacker, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, were both hit by gunfire.
Gamboa did not fire the gun, and he has not been officially charged with a crime. But he was arrested on suspicion of murder and told police that he made the dangerous situation that killed Ah Loo. According to jail logs, he was still being held as of Tuesday.
It’s not clear what Gamboa planned to do with the gun. When The Associated Press called his father on Tuesday, he said his son was not guilty.
“Arturo Gamboa, my son, is a good person.” Albert Gamboa said in a short phone call, “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The Salt Lake City Police Department said Monday that part of the investigation is figuring out if the safety worker had a good reason to shoot.
There is no law against carrying a gun on public streets in Utah, so anyone who is legally allowed to do so can do so.
A professor at William & Mary Law School named Timothy Zick has written about the rules that govern public protests. He said, “There will always be situations like this one, which may or may not have been a misunderstanding.”
He said, “It’s hard to tell who’s legal when there’s a gun in the middle of a crowded and sometimes chaotic protest space.”
According to the police, the protest permit did not say that there would be armed security. The roles and responsibilities of the event staff were also being looked into. The protest of about 10,000 people was mostly peaceful.
How did it all happen?
A police news release says that around 8 p.m., the soldier and another man saw Gamboa, who was dressed in all black, move behind a wall and take a gun out of his backpack while thousands of protesters marched through downtown Salt Lake City.
The two men pulled out handguns and told Gamboa to drop the rifle. But, according to witnesses, he moved towards the crowd and held his rifle in a “firing position.”
The safety volunteer fired three times and hit Gamboa and Ah Loo. Gamboa’s wound was not too bad, and he was caught nearby. Police found a rifle, a gas mask, and a backpack nearby.
After being taken to the hospital, Ah Loo died. Police said they still don’t know why Gamboa had the gun or why he reportedly didn’t follow the two men’s orders.
There were hundreds of protests across the country on Saturday against President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C. The parade was to honour the Army’s 250th anniversary and was also Trump’s birthday.
What do safety guards do at protests?
In a statement released Monday, the Utah chapter of the 50501 Movement, which helped plan the “No Kings” protest, said that the man who approached Gamboa was a veteran and a “safety volunteer” whose job it was to help keep things calm.
“Our team of safety volunteers, who were chosen because of their army, first responder, or other relevant de-escalation experience, thought there was an immediate threat to the protesters and acted,” the organisers said.
That person had some training, but the group didn’t say more about it or say why he was armed. Sarah Parker, a national organiser for the 50501 Movement, which helped plan the “No Kings” protests across the country, said that everyone who was going, even people who were supposed to be safe, was asked not to bring weapons.
Safety teams, who are sometimes called safety guards, are not armed very often. Professor of criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State University, Edward Maguire, said that they keep things in order by staying cool, talking to police, and getting along with protesters and police.
“Most people don’t think it’s a good idea to arm peacekeepers or marshals because it makes things worse,” Maguire said.
Who was the protester who was killed?
Ah Loo was a successful fashion designer and past contestant on “Project Runway.” He spent his whole life promoting artists from the Pacific Islands.
A friend of Ah Loo’s, Benjamin Powell, said that the 39-year-old was born in Samoa but has lived in Utah for ten years.
A close friend of Ah Loo’s told The Associated Press that he spent his whole life doing “good things for his neighbours and community.” Ah Loo was a self-taught artist who was also known as Afa. She said that they were both from the Samoan village of Lotopa.
A GoFundMe page for Ah Loo’s family says that he leaves behind a wife and two young children.
Powell said that he and Ah Loo were working on a fashion show for August. Powell said that this show would honor Ah Loo’s always-present dedication to his community.
