‘Innocent bystander’ shot, killed at ‘No Kings’ protest in downtown Salt Lake, suspect arrested

SALT LAKE CITY — One person was shot at a ‘No Kings’ protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday, and later died from injuries. Three people were taken into custody, police said.

On Sunday afternoon, the Salt Lake City Police Department identified the person killed as 39-year-old Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a Utah resident.

SLCPD said one person was taken to the hospital in critical condition Saturday after the shooting broke out just before 8 p.m.

On Sunday afternoon, SLCPD announced in a briefing that the victim, Ah Loo, died from his injuries at the hospital.

“Our preliminary investigation shows that our victim was not the intended target but rather an innocent bystander participating in the demonstration,” SLCPD said.

Police said immediately after the shooting, officers were “flagged down” near 100 S. 200 East, where they found a 24-year-old man “hiding in a group of people,” later identified as Arturo Gamboa.

“He had a minor gunshot wound and was hiding in a group of people,” police said. “At the time of his arrest, officers also recovered an AR-15-style rifle, a gas mask, and a backpack.”

SLCPD said Gamboa was booked into jail on a murder charge.

“Arturo Gamboa was acting under circumstances evidencing a depraved indifference to human life, and knowingly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death to another individual and thereby causes the death of the other individual,” police wrote in Gamboa’s jail probable cause statement.

SLCPD said a short time later, two other people were taken into custody — members of the events’ “peace-keeping team,” police said. The two people were wearing high-visibility vests and were armed.

Police said based off witness statements, the two men saw Gamboa in the crowd. He moved behind a wall and pulled out a rifle, “and began manipulating it.”

Police said the two men confronted Gamboa. Witnesses said Gamboa began running into the crowd with the rifle, when one of the neon-vested men fired three rounds, striking Gamboa, and “tragically, striking the man who later died.”

“At this time, there are no known outstanding individuals associated with the incident,” the press release said. “There are also no known threats to the community.”

On Sunday, SLCPD clarified, saying no action had been taken against the two other men, including the one who opened fire.

Shortly after the shooting, SLCPD asked that people leave the area “safely and orderly.”

‘Truly gripped with fear’

KSL spoke to a woman who said she and her nephew heard the shots ring out, ducked into a garage and saw a person on the ground.

“I was shaking, I was very nervous. I’ve heard gunshots before, I’ve seen shootings before, but in such a big crowd, not knowing where they’re coming from, it’s a lot more scary,” she said.

John Cedarland was in the middle of a conversation when the shooting happened. He didn’t hear the shots but saw as people began running and screaming in response.

“I’m old and I’ve seen scary things, but there were moments there that I was truly gripped with fear,” Cedarland said.

SLCPD said the events that led up to the shooting, and any possible motive, were still under investigation. The department asked anyone with information, including photos or video of the shooting, to upload those to its online portal.

The Utah Transit Authority was reportedly extending its services into the night to help people get home safely.

In an Instagram post by Utah50501, the group said:

We are grateful to the SLC First Responders and our safety team at the event for their quick response in the shooting, for apprehending the suspect before he could injure more people, and for helping get the protesters to safely clear the area. We condemn the shooter and all violence directed at our peaceful community members in the strongest possible terms.

‘No Kings’ protest was otherwise peaceful

The protest garnered thousands who gathered in Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Park following an earlier demonstration at the University of Utah. SLCPD said it estimated approximately 10,000 people were in attendance.

Bystanders told KSL that the protest began peacefully, and that protest organizers had called for a peaceful event.

SLCPD Chief Brian Redd, who praised demonstrators at protests earlier in the week for being committed to peace, later expressed his condolences to everyone affected, and to Ah Loo’s family.

“No one should fear coming to a demonstration — peaceful and lawful demonstration — in our city,” he said. “What happened (Saturday) night was sudden and alarming and not representative of our values here in Salt Lake City.”

Redd echoed the sentiments of protesters, and said police were well prepared for the protest. But the chain of events that resulted in the deadly shooting unfolded quickly.

“It was going very well and peaceful,” he said. “This came out of nowhere.”

Similar protests took place simultaneously across the country, coinciding with Flag Day and the 250th anniversary parade for the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C.

The “No Kings” movement said on its website that it aims to take a stand against authoritarianism. Earlier Saturday, demonstrators told KSL they wanted to be heard.

Difficult legal questions

While police have booked Gamboa into jail on the recommended murder charge, prosecutors will ultimately decide what charges are filed. KSL legal analyst Greg Skordas believes a murder charge would be very difficult to prove in this case.

“He wasn’t the person who caused the homicide. He wasn’t the person who caused the death,” Skordas said. “I think he was certainly acting inappropriately, and others were allowed under the law to stop him and even use deadly force, but he didn’t cause anyone’s death.”

People have been charged with murder in Utah before for participating in criminal activity that led to someone’s death.

“We have a law in Utah called felony murder, which states this: ‘If you’re in the act of committing a violent felony and someone is killed, even if it wasn’t your intent, you could be responsible for that death,'” Skordas said.

But he said that likely doesn’t apply in this case. The investigation must also look at the actions of the alleged peacekeeper who fired the shot that killed an innocent bystander. Skordas said prosecutors will also be weighing whether their actions were reasonable.

“The district attorney’s office has some really difficult criminal questions to answer when they look at these two individuals in deciding what, if anything, to charge them with,” he said.

‘Tensions have been high’

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall called the violence “horrific” in an X post following the shooting.

“We deserve to feel safe, especially when exercising our First Amendment rights,” she said.

The violence we’ve seen today in Salt Lake City and elsewhere in the country is horrific—it’s just not who we are. We deserve to feel safe, especially when exercising our First Amendment rights. Thank you to the Salt Lake City Police Department for their quick action tonight to…

— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) June 15, 2025

Gov. Spencer Cox denounced the shooting in a post on X, calling it “deeply troubling.”

The shooting at tonight’s protest in Salt Lake City is a deeply troubling act of violence and has no place in our public square.

This is an active situation, and we’re working closely with law enforcement to ensure accountability.

— Governor Cox (@GovCox) June 15, 2025

In a following post, Cox said his heart was broken “for everyone impacted tonight.”

Just spoke with Mayor Mendenhall. My heart is broken for everyone impacted tonight. Thank you to the thousands of protestors who exercised their constitutional rights in the right way tonight. I’m grateful to security, SLCPD, DPS, and medical personnel who jumped into action to… https://t.co/heVWeSeLpm

— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) June 15, 2025

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown commended law enforcement’s swift response.

“Violence has no place here in Utah. I’m deeply saddened to hear about the shooting at today’s protest and I appreciate law enforcement’s quick response to the incident.” – Attorney General Derek Brown

— Office of the Utah Attorney General (@UtahAG) June 15, 2025

State Sen. Nate Blouin was downtown for the protest and said tensions have been high nationally. Blouin referenced the ongoing protests in L.A. and Saturday’s shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers.

“When people show up, they want to march in peace generally … Tensions have been high, so this certainly doesn’t help cool the tone. But we want to try and take that down,” Blouin said.

---

Contributing: Carlysle Price, Andrew Adams and Mary Culbertson, KSL TV