Arthur Folasa, who gained fame as "Afa" Ah Loo during season 17 of Project Runway, has been identified as the victim who was fatally shot over the weekend during a "No Kings Protest" in Salt Lake City, UT. He was 39.
According to the Salt Lake City Police Department, Loo was an "innocent bystander" when gunfire erupted Sunday just before 8 p.m. local time at a demonstration that drew an estimated 10,000 people.
Police say that, after the shooting occurred, panic ensued, prompting hundreds of people to run for safety. They hid in parking garages, behind barriers, and some even ran into nearby businesses.
Officers found Loo and immediately administered life-saving efforts. Loo, a Utah resident, was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police say he was participating in the demonstration and "appears to have been an innocent bystander who was not the intended target of the gunfire."
Police later found another man with a gunshot wound crouching among a group of people. The 24-year-old man, identified as Arturo Gamboa, was dressed in all black clothing and wearing a black mask. He appeared to also posses an AR-15-style rifle. Cops also located a gas mask, black clothing, and a backpack in close proximity.
Gamboa was later booked into Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a charge of murder. Meanwhile, police say they also detained two men wearing high-visibility neon green vests. As part of the event's peacekeeping team, the men also carried handguns.
"During interviews, detectives learned the two peacekeepers saw Gamboa move away from the crowd and move into a secluded area behind a wall – behavior they found suspicious," police said in a statement. "One of the peacekeepers told detectives he saw Gamboa pull out an AR-15-style rifle from a backpack and begin manipulating it. The peacekeepers drew their firearms and ordered Gamboa to drop the weapon. Witnesses reported Gamboa instead lifted the rifle and began running toward the crowd gathered on State Street, holding the weapon in a firing position. In response, one of the peacekeepers fired three rounds. One round struck Gamboa, while another tragically wounded Mr. Ah Loo."
Police are still investigating the case. Salt Lake City Police say detectives have "developed probable cause that Gamboa acted under circumstances that showed a depraved indifference to human life, knowingly engaged in conduct that created a grave risk of death and ultimately caused the death of an innocent community member."
Loo, at 32, appeared in season 17 of Project Runway, where one of his first assignments was to make a dress for one of his sisters. He finished in 13th. Loo was born in Samoa and started a fashion business in Utah. He attended Brigham Young University’s satellite campus in Hawaii.
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