Man arrested after Utah ‘No Kings’ rally shooting is released as investigation continues
A man accused of brandishing a rifle during a rally “No Kings” in Utah – which prompted an armed security volunteer to open fire and accidentally kill a demonstrator – was released from prison while the investigation continues.
Salt Lake’s District Prosecutor’s Office Sim Gill said on Friday that he was unable to make a decision against Arturo Gamboa, who was imprisoned for murder after the June 14 shooting.
Salt Lake City police said Gamboa had brought an assault -style rifle to the rally and would have moved to the crowd with the raised weapon when a security volunteer for the event fired three shots, injuring Gamboa and killing a nearby demonstrator, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo.
Gamboa did not shoot his rifle and we do not know what he intended to do it. His father Albert Gamboa, told the Associated Press earlier this week that his son was “an innocent guy” who was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
UTAH is an open car state, which means that people who can legally have a firearm are generally authorized to transport it on a public street. The volunteer was not identified publicly because the investigators worked to determine who was at fault.
Justice James Blanch said in the order of liberation that Gamboa had to live with his father and that it was forbidden to have firearms. Conditions end after two months or if criminal charges against him are prosecuted, Blanch wrote.
Gamboa lawyer Greg Skordas did not immediately respond to a telephone message left for him to ask for comments.
The police said the day after the shooting that the witnesses said they saw Gamboa raising the rifle when they were ordered to drop it and instead of it, he started running towards the crowd. He fled but was arrested nearby, accused of having created the dangerous situation that led to the death of Ah Loo.
The Salt Lake City police said in a statement the next day that Gamboa “has become one of the conduct … who ultimately caused the death of an innocent community”.
But three days after Gamoa’s reservation in prison, without official accusations deposited, the police acknowledged that the circumstances surrounding the shooting remained uncertain. They made a public appeal for any video sequence linked to shooting or Gamboa, and said that detectives were still trying to “reconstruct exactly what happened”.
The volunteer who faced Gamoa was described by the organizers of the event as a military veteran whose role of security volunteer was to maintain order.
Experts say that it is extremely rare that these people, often called safety marshals, be armed. They generally count on calm behavior, communication and relations with the police and demonstrators to help keep order, said Edward Maguire, professor of criminology and criminal justice of Arizona State University.
Police said the demonstration permit did not specify that there would be armed security.
The protest organizers did not say if or how the security volunteer who fired on Ah Loo was trained or explained why he was armed. All participants, including those who have security positions, were invited not to bring arms, according to Sarah Parker, national coordinator of the 50501 movement. The Parker organization said Thursday that it dissociated a local section of the group which helped organize the UTAH demonstration.
The demonstration involving some 18,000 people was also peaceful. It was one of the hundreds nationally against President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, who marked the army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday.
