Although police say the so-called “peacekeeper” who shot two people during the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City — including an innocent bystander who was killed — had no law enforcement experience, event organizers say he does have military training.
On Monday, the Utah 50501 group who helped organize Saturday’s rally, released a statement regarding the shooting and indicated the so-called “peacekeepers” were “safety volunteers.”
Just before 8 p.m. Saturday, as an estimated 10,000 people were marching on State Street, two men who police say were part of a “peacekeeping” group for the rally reported spotting Arturo Roberto Gamboa, 24, near 151 S. State. One of the men says he watched Gamboa move away from the main crowd to a secluded area behind a wall.
“The peacekeepers found this behavior to be suspicious and kept Arturo in view. One of the peacekeepers observed Arturo remove an AR-15 style rifle from a backpack he was carrying. He observed Arturo begin to manipulate the rifle and they called out to him to drop the gun after drawing their own firearms. Arturo then lifted the rifle, and according to witnesses he began to run toward the large crowd gathered on State Street holding the rifle in a firing position,” a police booking affidavit states.
One of the two armed “peacekeepers” fired three rounds. One of those rounds hit Gamboa in the stomach. Another bullet hit and killed Arthur Folasa “Afa” Ah Loo, 39, who police say was an innocent bystander.
As the two “peacekeepers” attended to Ah Loo, Gamboa walked to the entryway of a building near 100 South and 200 East, and crouched down with others who were huddling together for safety.
“He’s crouched, crouch position, like shocked, and I guess he’s asking everyone, ‘What are we going to do, what are we going to do?’” witness Sam Hernandez told KSL-TV.
“I went and pointed at him and said, ‘Hey, man, what do you got in that bag?’ He just looked at me and I could tell. I just grabbed that bag and I held it up and right then I saw the stock, or the barrel, of the rifle. So, then I just grab it, and I take it out and I knew police were coming around, so I just held it up hoping they weren’t going to mistake me for anyone, and I say, ‘Hey, this is a rifle, we’ve got a rifle here.’”
Sam Hernandez describes seeing a man with a rifle at the “No Kings” rally on Saturday and taking it away from him. | Nathan Riser, KSL-TV
Hernandez says Gamboa told him, “I came to protest.” But Hernandez says he’s happy he was in a position to see something and say something.
“Bringing an AR-15, any weapon like that, is just an alert for some type of harm happening,” Hernandez said. “I just don’t see it being a safe thing to do.”
Gamboa, who did not fire a shot, was arrested for investigation of murder. The two “peacekeepers” were detained by police and questioned but later released without being arrested. The department says the investigation into those two men is continuing and the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office will ultimately determine whether to file any criminal charges.
The term “peacekeeper” was used in Gamboa’s police booking affidavit as well as a press release issued by the Salt Lake City Police Department, “reflecting how one of the men questioned self-described (himself) as a ‘peacekeeper,’” the department said Monday. “The term does not represent any formal designation recognized by the Salt Lake City Police Department or the city. … There is no information, at this time, about whether this is an official term used by the event organizers. There is no record in the event’s permit indicating the presence of organized or armed security.”
In their statement on Monday, the 50501 group did not use the word “peacekeeper.”
“Our team of safety volunteers, who have been selected because of their military, first responder and other relevant de-escalation experience, believed that there was an imminent threat to the protesters and took action. The safety volunteer who responded to the individual and who was questioned by police is a military veteran.”
The group also said they are mourning Ah Loo “with everything that we have.”
Salt Lake City police spokesman Brent Weisberg said part of the department’s investigation will look into what kind of training the “peacekeepers” had, as well as any state laws that may apply to carrying weapons.
Likewise, detectives will also continue to investigate a possible motive for Gamboa’s alleged actions and whether he intended to commit a mass shooting. As of Monday, Weisberg said there was no evidence to suggest that anyone else was working with Gamboa.
Contributing: Andrew Adams