Pacific Islander community wants action from Utah leaders after shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Pacific Islander community is calling on state and local leaders to respond to their questions and concerns following Saturday’s shooting at the “No Kings” protest.

Alyn Toalepai, president of the Utah Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to a number of leaders, including the Salt Lake City Council, state lawmakers and the mayor’s office.

“The email’s purpose is to seek justice, transparency and accountability for the death of Afa Ah Loo, who’s a member of our community and also a member of our Chamber of Commerce,” Toaelepai said.

Alyn Toalepai called Ah loo a colleague and a friend.

“The beauty of Afa is that he was Samoan through and through,” he said. “Even as a citizen of the United States, he did his best to bring the culture to the United States, because a lot of times our children are lost in what is in the islands.”

Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce wants questioned answered

In the letter, Toalepai asks for “urgent answers” to five questions:

1.      Who authorized armed “peacekeepers” to operate at this public demonstration?

• Were they trained, licensed, and briefed on public safety and crowd control procedures?
• Were they acting independently, or were they sanctioned by the city or event organizers?

2.      What safety protocols were in place for such a large-scale protest involving 10,000 people?

• Was there a vetted security plan reviewed and approved by city authorities?
• Were there adequate emergency response resources allocated in anticipation of potential threats?

3.      What are the existing laws around civilians acting in security roles while armed at public events?

• Are there legal frameworks in place to prevent untrained individuals from taking on such high-risk responsibilities?

4.      How did an individual with an AR-15-style weapon enter and move within the crowd without immediate detection or intervention?

• Was there any intelligence, surveillance, or event coordination that could have mitigated this?

5.      Will the city provide transparency in investigating this incident, including the actions taken by the shooter who killed Afa?

He said the Pacific Islander community is grieving deeply. He wrote, he doesn’t want Ah Loo’s death to be in vain.

“The way he sews his designs is the way he sewed our lives,” Toalepai said. “I think it’s incumbent upon us that are here to speak on his behalf now, to make sure that we sew the pieces together and bring accountability to what happened.”

Toalepai also asks for a review and reform of policy for armed civilians at public events, a public update on the investigation, support for mental health services, especially for youth, and a town hall meeting.

“I would like and the answers to a lot of the same questions that he has,” said State Sen. Todd Weiler, R–Woods Cross.

He received the letter. He called this incident a tragic, senseless killing.

“I’m open for some type of town hall or a public hearing where these issues can be addressed.”

State Senator says his questions zero in on the city level 

Sen. Weiler said he’s received his updates on the shooting from media reports. He said most of the investigation and discussions are currently taking place at the city level.

“I’m sure those organizers never envisioned themselves shooting innocent bystanders, but it seems like some very blatant and obvious mistakes were made,” he said.

He said he doesn’t anticipate huge changes in laws after this shooting.

“It’s hard to legislate individual behavior, because we can pass a law in these ivory towers, but some people are going to do what they’re going to do,” Weiler said. “I think it’s very provocative to bring an AR-15 to a crowded demonstration. And it’s also very provocative to pull out a gun and shoot at that person. And I don’t know what the intent was of the person with the 15.”

Weiler said he’s waiting for Salt Lake City Police to finish their investigation. He said he and other lawmakers will have a briefing with Chief Brian Tedd on Wednesday.

Toalepai said he wants to ensure this never happens again.

“My letter is not an intent to harm,” he said. “It’s an intent out of respect for our legislators, for the officers, for the people we entrust to protect us. And that’s what I’m looking for. How are you protecting us now?”