SALT LAKE CITY — No longer fearful of facing charges, the man seen carrying a rifle at this summer's No Kings protest in Salt Lake City, allegedly sparking the fatal shooting of a bystander, is set to speak for the first time about the incident.
Arturo Gamboa was apprehended by police in the immediate moments after the June 14 shooting that killed fashion designer Afa Ah Loo. During the protest, Gamboa was seen walking with an AR-15 rifle, leading members of the event security staff to be concerned about his intent and the possible threat of a mass shooting.
One of the volunteer peacekeepers, Matthew Alder, fired three times toward Gamboa, with one of those shots fatally wounding Ah Loo.
Gamboa was released from jail nearly a week later, as a deadline was reached without charges being filed against him.
‘Peacekeeper’ charged with manslaughter in fatal No Kings protest shooting:
Last week, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office announced that manslaughter charges were filed against Alder and that no charges would be brought against Gamboa, despite detectives finding that he was carrying the disassembled AR-15, three loaded magazines and a knife.
A colleague of Alder's on the event security team told police they had seen Gamboa "hide" behind a column and appear to pull out part of the rifle, and "was struggling" to put it together. The witness added that he understood Utah's open carry laws, but felt the situation involving Gamboa was different, as he was "assembling [the rifle] under cover.
The security team member called out "gun, gun, gun" over his radio as Gamboa moved towards State Street, and believed he was "about to commit a mass shooting," the indictment against Alder states. The unidentified witness added that he "should have dropped him," regarding Gamboa, but said he did not have a shot and told police, "there's no way I can shoot [Gamboa] when he's running toward a crowd."
At that point, Alder fired at Gamboa with a 9mm handgun.
Gamboa described as a punk rocker who often open-carries a firearm at protests:
Days after the shooting, Alder told detectives that he believed Gamboa was "psyching himself up" and looked to be in "combat mode."
“Oh, my God, this is happening, this is really bad, somebody’s going to get hurt,” Alder told detectives he thought to himself at the time.
