A man accused of wielding a rifle at a “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City before an armed safety volunteer opened fire and accidentally killed a protester has been released from jail, court records show.
Utah Third District Judge James Blanch signed an order to release Arturo Gamboa on June 20 after state prosecutors were “unable to make an informed decision” on charges against him before his scheduled release date on June 23, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY. Gamboa, 24, had been arrested on suspicion of murder following a “No Kings” demonstration and march in downtown Salt Lake City on June 14.
As prosecutors review evidence as it becomes available, the order states that Gamboa was released under stipulated conditions agreed upon through his attorney. Under those conditions, Gamboa must maintain residence with his father, not possess any firearms, and hand over his passport to his attorney.
His release came after Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill requested and received a three-day extension to keep Gamboa in custody, The Salt Lake Tribune and KSL.com reported. The extension would have detained Gamboa until June 23, but Gill later said his office was unable to decide Gamboa’s culpability in the shooting, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Gamboa was taken into custody after he pulled out a rifle at demonstrators and allegedly moved toward the crowd while holding the weapon in a firing position, Salt Lake City police said. An armed safety volunteer, who police described as a member of the peacekeeping team for the protest, then fired three shots.
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Gamboa was wounded in the shooting while a nearby demonstrator, identified as fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, was killed, according to police.
Prosecutors and police said the incident remains under investigation. Police have asked the public to contact authorities with any information related to the shooting as investigators work to “understand the full scope of what occurred.”
“We are asking for the public’s help. If you captured any footage, particularly from the moments immediately before, during, or after the shooting, or if you have video of the shooting itself, or the person arrested, please share that evidence with us,” the Salt Lake City Police Department said in a news release. “Even small details may prove vital to this investigation.”
What happened during the shooting at Utah’s ‘No Kings’ rally?
Shortly before 8 p.m. local time, officers reported hearing gunfire at the demonstration, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Police reported that three shots were fired, and a man, who was later identified as Ah Loo, was fatally struck by a round.
Officers immediately responded to the scene and were informed that a man wearing a black mask and all black clothing was seen running away, the affidavit states. Officers then discovered the man, who was identified as Gamboa, with a minor gunshot wound, crouched down among a small group of people.
Officers discovered that Gamboa had an AR-15 style rifle, a gas mask, additional black clothing, and a backpack, according to the affidavit. Other officers in the area found two men wearing yellow high-visibility vests with handguns in their possession.
Police described the two men as members of a “peacekeeping group assigned to assist the planned protest/rally in ensuring everyone’s safety,” the affidavit states. One of the “peacekeepers” told officers that he saw Gamboa move away from the main crowd to a secluded area behind a wall.
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“The peacekeepers found this behavior to be suspicious and kept (Gamboa) in view,” according to the affidavit. “One of the peacekeepers observed (Gamboa) remove an AR-15 style rifle from a backpack he was carrying. He observed (Gamboa) begin to manipulate the rifle and they called out to him to the drop the gun after drawing their own firearms.”
Gamboa then allegedly lifted the rifle, and witnesses described seeing him begin to run toward the large crowd of demonstrators while holding the weapon in a firing position, the affidavit states. One of the “peacekeepers” fired three rounds, striking Gamboa and Ah Loo.
“Detectives have not been able to determine, at this time, why Gamboa pulled out his rifle and began to manipulate it or why he ran from the peacekeepers when they confronted him,” police said in a news release after the incident. “Detectives have developed probable cause that Gamboa acted under circumstances that showed a depraved indifference to human life, knowingly engaged in conduct that created a grave risk of death and ultimately caused the death of an innocent community member.”
There are no regulations for how guns are carried in public in Utah, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group. And police have not identified the two “peacekeepers” involved in the incident.
Shooting occurred during widespread ‘No Kings’ protests on June 14
“No Kings” demonstrations across the United States drew large crowds on June 14. The protests were held in opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies and coincided with the controversial parade for the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary in Washington, D.C.
While the demonstrations were mostly calm and peaceful, some protests were met with violence.
The Salt Lake City shooting occurred as thousands of protesters gathered in the city’s downtown area. Police initially said the protest drew about 10,000 people, but later updated the estimated attendance to 18,000.
In Virginia, a man intentionally drove an SUV through a crowd of departing protesters, striking at least one person, police said. A California man was arrested after allegedly threatening to commit a shooting at the Palm Springs “No Kings” rally, police said on social media.
Police in Los Angeles hit protesters with batons, fired tear gas, and ordered a large crowd in downtown to disperse. At the time, police said they were responding to people throwing “rocks, bricks, bottles,” and “fireworks.”
Two people were charged on June 18 after a woman was critically injured when an SUV sped into a crowd of demonstrators in downtown Riverside in Southern California, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and the Victorville Daily Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Sarah D. Wire, Jeanine Santucci, and Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man arrested after fatal shooting at Utah ‘No Kings’ protest released
