What to know about the fatal shooting at a Utah 'No Kings' rally

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah investigators sought help from the public as they worked to unravel who was at fault when a safety volunteer at a weekend “No Kings” rally fired at an alleged gunman and inadvertently hit and killed a protester.

The safety volunteer, who has not been identified publicly, fired three rounds at Arturo Gamboa, 24, who had allegedly brandished a rifle at Saturday's crowd in downtown Salt Lake City. The gunshots hit both Gamboa and protester Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, according to the Salt Lake City police.

Gamboa, who did not fire his rifle, was arrested on suspicion of murder, accused of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo's death, police said. No criminal charges have been filed.

A state judge on Thursday granted a request by prosecutors to extend Gamboa's detention without bail until 5 p.m. on Monday, while investigators continue interviewing witnesses and reviewing footage of the incident, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said.

Investigators are also looking into whether the safety volunteer was justified in firing his gun, according to police. Police on Wednesday asked the public for more video footage of events surrounding the shooting.

It is unclear what Gamboa intended to do with the rifle. His father Albert Gamboa, reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, declared his son's innocence in a brief phone call: “My son, Arturo Gamboa, is an innocent guy. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Utah is an open-carry state, meaning people who can legally own a firearm are generally allowed to carry it on a public street.

“Inevitably there are going to be instances like this one, which may or may not have been a misunderstanding,” said Timothy Zick, a William & Mary Law School professor who has written about the laws surrounding public protests.

"It’s hard to sort out who’s acting lawfully with a firearm in the middle of an already crowded, sometimes chaotic protest space,” he said.

The protest of some 18,000 people was otherwise peaceful.

Here’s what is known so far about the shooting:

Thousands of protesters were marching through downtown Salt Lake City when, around 8 p.m., the safety volunteer and another man said they spotted Gamboa, who was wearing all black clothing, move behind a wall and withdraw a rifle from a backpack, according to a police news release.

The two men drew their handguns and ordered Gamboa to drop the rifle, but witnesses said he instead moved toward the crowd and held his rifle in a “firing position,” according to police.

The safety volunteer shot three rounds, hitting Gamboa and Ah Loo. Ah Loo died after being taken to a hospital. Gamboa's wound was relatively minor, and he was arrested nearby by police, who found a rifle, gas mask and backpack in the area.

Police said they do not yet know why Gamboa had the rifle or allegedly disobeyed the orders from the two men.

The protest was one of hundreds nationwide Saturday against President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, which marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday.

The Utah chapter of 50501 Movement, which helped organize the “No Kings” protest, said in a statement Monday that the man who confronted Gamboa was a military veteran and “safety volunteer” meant to help maintain order.

“Our team of safety volunteers, who have been selected because of their military, first responder, and other relevant de-escalation experience, believed there was an imminent threat to the protestors and took action,” organizers said.

The group did not give further details on the person’s training or explain why he was armed. Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for 50501 Movement, which helped organize the “No Kings” protests across the country, said all attendees, including those in safety roles, were asked not to bring weapons.

It’s extremely rare for safety teams, often called safety marshals, to be armed. Instead, they rely on calm demeanor, communication skills and relationships with police and protesters to help keep order, said Edward Maguire, an Arizona State University criminology and criminal justice professor.

“Arming marshals or peacekeepers is widely discouraged, as it tends to create more problems than it solves," Maguire said.

Police said the permit for the protest did not specify that there would be armed security, and event staffers’ roles were under investigation.

Ah Loo was a successful fashion designer and former “Project Runway” contestant who devoted his life to celebrating artists from the Pacific Islands.

Benjamin Powell, a friend of Ah Loo's, said the 39-year-old was born in Samoa but lived in Utah for about a decade.

Ah Loo, a self-taught designer known to many as Afa, devoted his life to doing “good things for his neighbors and community,” state Rep. Verona Mauga, a close friend, told the AP. Their families were both from the small village of Lotopa in Samoa, she said.

Ah Loo leaves behind a wife and two young children, according to a GoFundMe page for his family.

Powell said he and Ah Loo were working on an August fashion show, which Powell said will now honor Ah Loo’s unwavering commitment to his community.

Bedayn reported from Denver. Associated Press writer Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming, contributed.

Arturo Gamboa is taken away in handcuffs on a gurney during the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Scott G. Winterton/The Deseret News via AP)

A makeshift memorial for Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, known to friends and family as Afa, is seen Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, on the block where Ah Loo was fatally shot during a "No Kings" protest on Saturday, June 14. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Demonstrators carry signs and chant while marching during a “No Kings” protest, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Amanda Barrett)

A makeshift memorial for Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, known to friends and family as Afa, is seen Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in downtown Salt Lake City, on the block where Ah Loo was fatally shot during a "No Kings" protest on Saturday, June 14. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

A woman lays flowers Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at a makeshift memorial for Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, known to friends and family as Afa, on the city block in Salt Lake City, where Ah Loo was fatally shot during a "No Kings" protest on Saturday, June 14. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

People rush to give medical assistance to a man shot during a “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Brice Tucker//The Deseret News via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he’s dropping — for now — his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, a move that comes after legal roadblocks held up the effort.

“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again - Only a question of time!" he said in a social media post Wednesday.

Governors typically control states' National Guardsmen, and Trump had deployed troops to all three cities against the wishes of state and local Democratic leaders. He said it was necessary as part of a broader crackdown on immigration, crime and protests.

The president has made a crackdown on crime in cities a centerpiece of his second term — and has toyed with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act to stop his opponents from using the courts to block his plans. He has said he sees his tough-on-crime approach as a winning political issue ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Troops had already left Los Angeles after the president deployed them earlier this year as part of a broader crackdown on crime and immigration.

In his post, Trump said the troops' presence was responsible for a drop in crime in the three cities, though they were never on the streets in Chicago and Portland as legal challenges played out. When the Chicago deployment was challenged in court, a Justice Department lawyer said the Guard’s mission would be to protect federal properties and government agents in the field, not “solving all of crime in Chicago.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s office in a statement said the city’s reduction in crime was due to the efforts of local police and public safety programs. Chicago officials echoed the sentiment, saying in a release Tuesday that the city had 416 homicides in 2025 — the fewest since 2014.

Trump’s push to deploy the troops in Democrat-led cities has been met with legal challenges at nearly every turn.

The Supreme Court in December refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area. The order was not a final ruling but was a significant and rare setback by the high court for the president’s efforts.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote on X Wednesday that Trump “lost in court when Illinois stood up against his attempt to militarize American cities with the National Guard. Now Trump is forced to stand down.”

Hundreds of troops from California and Oregon were deployed to Portland, but a federal judge barred them from going on the streets. A judge permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops there in November after a three-day trial.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Wednesday that her office had not yet received “official notification that the remaining federalized Oregon National Guard troops can return home. They were never lawfully deployed to Portland and there was no need for their presence. If President Trump has finally chosen to follow court orders and demobilize our troops, that’s a big win for Oregonians and for the rule of law.”

Trump's decision to federalize National Guard troops began in Los Angeles in June, when protesters took to the streets in response to a blitz of immigration arrests in the area. He deployed about 4,000 troops and 700 Marines to guard federal buildings and, later, to protest federal agents as they carried out immigration arrests.

The number of troops slowly dwindled until just several hundred were left. They were removed from the streets by Dec. 15 after a lower court ruling that also ordered control to be returned to Gov. Gavin Newsom. But an appeals court had paused the second part of the order, meaning control remained with Trump. In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause in that part of the order.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to return control of the National Guard to Newsom.

“About time (Trump) admitted defeat,” Newsom said in a social media post. “We’ve said it from day one: the federal takeover of California’s National Guard is illegal.”

Troops will remain on the ground in several other cities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in December paused a lower court ruling that had called for an end to the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., where they’ve been deployed since August after Trump declared a “crime emergency.”

Trump also ordered the deployment of the Tennessee National Guard to Memphis in September as part of a larger federal task force to combat crime, a move supported by the state’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee and senators. A Tennessee judge blocked the use of the Guard, siding with Democratic state and local officials who sued. However, the judge stayed the decision to block the Guard as the state appeals, allowing the deployment to continue.

In New Orleans, about 350 National Guard troops deployed by Trump arrived in the city's historic French Quarter on Tuesday and are set to stay through Mardi Gras to help with safety. The state's Republican governor and the city's Democratic mayor support the deployment.

Ding reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, Jack Brook in New Orleans and Adrian Sanz in Memphis contributed.

FILE - A protester confronts a line of U.S. National Guard members in the Metropolitan Detention Center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Protesters stand off against California National Guard soldiers at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, during a "No Kings" protest, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)