SALT LAKE CITY — As details continue to emerge from Saturday's deadly shooting during the "No Kings" protest in downtown Salt Lake City, a storyline of the people who rushed to help the victim is emerging.
Those who participated in the protest and march that was scheduled to end at the federal building downtown are still processing their emotions in the wake of its tragic ending. But through it all, we've been able to find a story of heroism of individuals who ran towards the gunfire.
"[We were] doing medic works all the way up with the parade. It was all quiet. It was all calm," explained retired nurse Jay Pease on Monday. "We were right at the very end of it. I was right at the federal building when the shots started going out."
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Pease grabbed his bag and ran toward the area where the shots were fired, yelling at people to clear the street and get cover. That's when he spotted the victim, now identified as fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo.
"I ran in and I dropped to my knees, and I have another guy who's falling right behind me. There ended up to be four or five people there helping me up until the last two, three minutes, when a trauma doctor showed up and helped take over the scene," he shared.
The retired nurse was one of the first to try and help save Ah Loo's life. After being transported to the hospital, Ah Loo died of his injuries.
"We did absolutely everything we could," Pease said. "And I am so sorry that it just wasn't enough.
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Pease is speaking out, not because he wants praise, but to recognize the others who rushed to his side to try to save Ah Loo’s life.
"I don't know their names that ran in there with me. I just want to thank them for their help and for their bravery," he said.
The volunteers put their safety aside, Pease explained, not knowing where the shots had come from and having never experienced anything like what happened.
"I was so proud of them," shared Pease. "Most people get this wrong because they watched too many action movies. If you're not scared, there's something wrong with you.
"That bravery is overcoming that fear and realizing that person who's injured or that person who's in danger, their life matters as much as yours does. These people went into, for them, the line of fire for somebody they didn't even know."
Although Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd praised the SWAT medics who arrived to help Ah Loo, Pease says he and others helped him for several minutes before the crews arrived.
"I know that the chief was going off the reports he had, but seriously, I think the ones that need that recognition, I don't need the recognition. I can guarantee you the doctor doesn't need the recognition, are those that bypassed their very survival instinct and conquered their fear and ran into help."
It was a choice to overcome instincts and only focus on helping.
"Because they chose the hardest choice ever," said Pease. "They chose somebody else's well-being over their own safety. That's a true hero. That's true bravery
"That is a true, honest human being."
