A man who was believed to be part of a peacekeeping team for the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City shot at a person who was brandishing a rifle at demonstrators, striking both the rifleman and a bystander who later died at the hospital, authorities said Sunday.
Police took the alleged rifleman, Arturo Gamboa, 24, into custody Saturday evening on a murder charge, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said at a Sunday news conference. The bystander was Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, a fashion designer from Samoa.
Detectives don’t yet know why Gamboa pulled out a rifle or ran from the peacekeepers, but they accused him of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death. The Associated Press did not immediately find an attorney listed for Gamboa or contact information for his family in public records.
You don’t raise a gun and point it at people unless you intend to shoot it at them.
Should the peacekeeper have waited till he started spraying bullets until he fired on an obvious threat?
Maybe he should’ve waited until a few people got shot first. Or waited until there was at least a confirmed kill?
Should he have called 911 and said “officer there is a man here drawing an AR-15 on the crowd please hurry before he shoots somebody” and wait 15 minutes for the cop to arrive?
Like…I don’t know what you expect here. If there’s one time when it’s acceptable to shoot first, it’s when somebody already has a gun pointing at you.
This whole thing is a shining example of “good guy with a gun”. It’s the second-best possible outcome, only being better if Ah Soo weren’t struck in the crossfire. .
You’re also supposed to be sure of your target and what is beyond it. That’s literally rule 4 of gun safety. It exists so that you don’t, ya know, shoot and kill or injure innocent bystanders.
It’s odd how a peacekeeper for the protest felt there was such an imminent threat they fired in an unsafe manner and yet Gamboa didn’t return fire, or shoot into the crowd or, in fact, fire a single round. The short clip floating around seems to show him running after being shot at.
Treat every firearm as if it were loaded: This means assuming a gun is always loaded, even
Always point the muzzle in a safe direction: Never point a gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot, and be mindful of the direction the muzzle is pointed, even when the gun is not loaded.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot: Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are on target and have made the conscious decision to fire.
Be sure of your target and what is beyond it: Before firing, identify your target and be aware of what is behind it, as bullets can travel through or ricochet off of objects.
Where in the video did he raise his gun?
I don’t think you can see it in the video, but it is literally the first sentence of the article…
“Brandish” is a specific word. It implies aggression.
If I were to brandish a rifle at you, you would have every right to shoot me first and ask questions later. Especially given the circumstance and current events.
I’m going to go with the evidence I trust, the video, as opposed to the word of the guy who was specifically told he was not allowed to have a weapon that shot into a crowd. So far the evidence leaves me with doubt of the official story being reported.
Edit: to add to this, I live in Salt Lake and have attended many protests with this very man not more than five feet from me, he’s a left wing gun protection and safety advocate.