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An innocent bystander who was a fashion designer that appeared on “Project Runway” died over the weekend after he was shot during a “No Kings” protest in Utah, police said Sunday.
The victim was identified as Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a Samoan designer who appeared on the hit Bravo show and a married father of two.
He was shot during the Saturday protest, which attracted around 10,000 people, and died later that night, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said.
“Our victim was not the intended target,” said Redd, who added that Ah Loo, 39, was just participating in the march.
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Redd said Ah Loo was mistakenly shot by one of two event peacekeepers in neon vests who opened fire after a suspect, identified as Arturo Gamboa, 24, ran toward the crowd with a rifle.
They saw Gamboa pull out a rifle before raising it in a firing position before moving toward a crowd of protesters, Redd said. One of the men in the vests fired three times, striking Gamboa and the victim, who later died.
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Gamboa was wounded and was allegedly found with a rifle and a gas mask in his backpack. Paramedics took Gamboa to the hospital. Detectives later booked Gamboa into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a charge of murder.
Two SWAT medics performed life-saving care on the victim before he was taken to a hospital, where he later died, police said. The shooter was cooperating with investigators, police said.
Gamboa, who did not fire a shot, doesn’t have any criminal history, the chief said.
Ah Loo appeared in Season 17 of “Project Runway” in 2019 and returned for “Project Runway Redemption.” He also created couture for cast members of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” and was invited by the late Queen Elizabeth II to present his collection at Buckingham Palace during London Fashion Week, the New York Post reported.
Utah state Rep. Verona Mauga told KSL-TV that she was with Ah Loo hours before he was killed.
“Afa is a person who believed in equity and equality for all people and all communities. He believed that everyone was deserving of basic human rights,” Mauga said. “And that’s why he was there. He was with his community and he was with people he cared about, marching and rallying for all of those things that make our community, like, really great.”
An online fundraiser to pay for Ah Loo’s funeral has raised more than $200,000.
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