'No Kings': Anti-Trump Demonstrator Killed Under Strange Circumstances
An anti-Trump "No Kings" protester has died after being shot at a protest in Utah, police say. The man was arrested after Arthur Folasa A Lou, 39, was apparently shot by a member of the event's peacekeeping team.
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A protester who was shot Saturday during a "No Kings" protest in Salt Lake City has died, Utah police said Sunday afternoon.
According to The Guardian, 39-year-old Arthur Folasa A Lou was apparently shot dead by a man who was part of a peacekeeping team taking part in the event.
"Our victim was not the intended target," said Brian Redd, Salt Lake City police chief, "rather, he was an innocent bystander participating in a demonstration."
According to the SMIU, 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa was taken into police custody Saturday night on a murder charge, Redd said at a news conference Sunday. The victim, A Lu, who was taken to the hospital Saturday night, died from his injuries.
Redd said the man in the bright vest fired a pistol three times at Gamboa, causing relatively minor injuries to Gamboa but fatally wounding A Lou.
Redd said two peacekeepers wearing neon vests allegedly saw Gamboa break away from a crowd of protesters in downtown Salt Lake City, go behind a wall and pull out a rifle around 8 p.m.
When two men in vests charged at Gamboa with guns, witnesses said Gamboa raised the gun into a firing position and ran toward the crowd, Redd said.
That's when one of the men in bright vests fired three shots, hitting Gamboa and A Lou, Redd said. Gamboa, who police said had no criminal history, was wounded and received medical treatment before being taken to jail.
Police said they found an AR-15 rifle, a gas mask and a backpack at the scene.
Detectives don't yet know why Gamboa pulled out a rifle or ran from peacekeepers, but they have accused him of creating a dangerous situation that led to A Lu's death. The Associated Press could not immediately find Gamboa's lawyer or contact information for his family in public records.
The gunshots sent hundreds of protesters scattering, some hiding behind barriers and into parking lots and nearby businesses, police said in a statement. “These are guns. Come on, come on, get out,” someone can be heard saying in a video posted on social media that appears to show the dramatic events.
"No Kings" protests spread across the United States on Saturday, with organisers saying millions of people had turned out to protest what they called Donald Trump's authoritarian excesses. Clashes were mostly isolated, The Guardian reports.
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