The rifle-touting man who was arrested after a volunteer allegedly shot at him and killed an innocent bystander during Salt Lake City’s “No Kings” protest last Saturday will remain in jail at least through Monday after prosecutors say they need more time to decide whether he should face criminal charges.
The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office and Salt Lake City police are planning to meet on Friday to analyze evidence and make a decision on whether to file charges, the D.A.’s office said Thursday.
But Utah law puts limits on how long someone can be kept in jail without being formally charged. Arturo Gamboa, 24, has been in custody since Sunday — and has reached the limit of the allowable 72-hour hold. Law enforcement, though, can ask a judge for an extension, which the Salt Lake County district attorney’s office did on Thursday.
A judge agreed to the extension, which is why Gamboa can be now held in Salt Lake County jail until Monday without formal charges.
Gamboa was arrested soon after the shooting on Saturday evening, when officers found him crouching in a group of demonstrators, police said. After receiving treatment at a hospital for a gunshot wound, he was booked into jail on suspicion of murder — although Salt Lake City police investigators say he never fired a shot.
Police say a member of the protest’s “peacekeeping” team fired at Gamboa after they saw him running toward a crowd of protesters with an AR-15 style rifle drawn. The safety volunteer fired three shots, police say: One that struck Gamboa and another that fatally wounded Utah fashion designer Arthur Ah Loo, who was known as “Afa.”
(Ah Loo family) Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a renowned Samoan fashion designer, who lived in Utah. Ah Loo was killed in a Salt Lake City protest on June 14, 2025.
Since Saturday, high-vantage video that briefly shows the moments just before, and when, shots ring out — picking up the sound of gunfire — has circulated online and drawn skepticism, with some questioning whether Gamboa had his weapon aimed at the crowd or the ground.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a Thursday statement that his office asked for a three-day extension for Gamboa to remain in jail because prosecutors haven’t yet formally examined the evidence that police have been gathering, which includes witness interviews as well as “voluminous amounts” of surveillance and amateur footage of what happened.
“I ask for everyone’s patience,” he said. “When a person loses their life we are all impacted as a community. It is critical that we are thorough, accurate, and faithful to the truth. Arthur Afa Ah Loo’s family and our community of citizens deserve no less.”
