Who is Arturo Gamboa, the man accused in deadly ‘No Kings’ shooting?

SALT LAKE CITY — A friend of Arturo Gamboa, the man accused of holding an AR-15 style rifle at the “No Kings” protest, is offering a different perspective on who Gamboa is and why he open-carried weapons at protests. 

Utah is an open-carry state, meaning that residents over the age of 21 can carry a weapon in the open without needing a special permit. 

KSL is choosing to identify the friend only by his first name because of safety concerns. 

Andy said Gamboa was involved in social justice organizations and had previously open-carried at other protests as a form of protection for himself and other protesters around him. 

“I know that his intentions to go with the rifle weren’t to harm anybody, and especially not the people that he was protesting alongside with it,” Andy said about Gamboa during a phone interview Thursday afternoon. 

Gamboa is currently being held in the Salt Lake County Jail, accused of murder, following the death of Arthur “Afa” Folasa Ah Loo, an innocent bystander who police say was shot by peacekeepers aiming for Gamboa.

Gamboa was also hit during the shooting, but police say the bullet grazed him and he was treated in the hospital and taken into custody. 

Police don’t believe Gamboa fired any shots on Saturday. 

Andy said he’s been friends with Gamboa for nearly half of his life — they met through music.

He said he wasn’t with Gamboa on Saturday when the shooting happened, but when the news broke, it was “extremely confusing” because it was unclear who had fired shots following the initial report.

Andy said, “That’s not the dude that I know.” 

“He genuinely is a very caring and kind-hearted person, very passionate about things, especially social justice and uplifting those who can’t, maybe necessarily uplift themselves,” Andy said. 

Andy called the death of Ah Loo a true tragedy.

Andy said they went to Black Lives Matter protests back in 2020.

“Each and every time he was safely and responsibly open carrying the same rifle,” Andy said. 

Possible charges for Arturo Gamboa and beyond

Nathan Evershed is a former prosecutor and current defense attorney. He said, “It both matters and it may not matter at all,” that Gamboa had been seen peacefully holding a rifle at previous protests. 

“It could be used in evidence for a potential defense by showing, ‘Hey, this is what his intent was, and to corroborate that this is what he’s done before,'” Evershed said. “But then on the other hand, I think the peacekeeper would then be able to potentially say he doesn’t know Gamboa; he’s never seen him before, like he had no idea. How is he supposed to know?”

Evershed said that how exactly Gamboa was holding the gun is probably the “most” crucial part of the case. 

“Because if he was threatening it, pointing it, or doing something like that, then you can highly expect that there’s going to be significant charges there,” Evershed said.

On Thursday, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office asked for more time to review Gamboa’s case before they file charges. 

Evershed said District Attorney Sim Gill is likely going through tons of witness and video evidence.  

“So just because Gamboa didn’t fire the gun doesn’t mean he couldn’t be charged with homicide. But on the other hand, just because he’s in possession of a firearm also doesn’t necessarily mean he’s committed an aggravated assault, or he’s acting with depraved indifference. There is a scenario where he’s not doing anything potentially, but he’s holding a firearm. And if that’s the case, then that might be a little bit that could be very difficult to prove, felony murder or depraved indifference murder.”

And to the people who questioned why Gamboa would bring an AR-15-style rifle to the protest? 

“I would just say that those who know him, like myself, know that he is not a violent person,” Andy said. “And while it may not have been the wisest decision to carry openly at that time, especially given the context of, you know, mass shootings in the United States and things like that. It’s completely understandable that people would be uncomfortable with that.”

Charges still possible for “peacekeeper” 

Police say witnesses saw Gamboa raise the gun, but police didn’t say if the peacekeepers had made contact or ordered Gamboa to drop the gun before they opened fire. But Andy believes that if the 50501 event peacekeepers made contact with Gamboa, they would’ve realized that “he was not a threat.” 

On Thursday, the 50501 national organization announced they are unaffiliating with the Salt Lake City branch. It said “50501 is rooted in nonviolence” and has a “strict no-weapon policy, without exception.” It went on to apologize for “incomplete information” it posted about the shooting and the “harm” it might have caused Gamboa. 

Andy said he doesn’t feel like this is taking full accountability for their role in what happened on Saturday.

And if the peacekeepers could face charges? Defense attorney Nathan Evershed said it could go either way. 

“We are right now, today, as we speak, in a world where Gamboa could be potentially charged with homicide as soon as next week. We are also potentially in a world where he’s never charged because the evidence just isn’t there that he did anything threatening with the gun,” Evershed said.

“But we’re also in a world where this peacekeeper could literally be charged with maybe manslaughter, or something like that, recklessness. Or potentially based off of the evidence that he was conducting self-defense, and he’s never charged.”