<\/p>\n
\n\tFour months after the fashion designer Arthur \u201cAfa\u201d Ah Loo was killed during a \u201cNo Kings\u201d protest in Salt Lake City, his widow Laura is calling on officials for accountability in his death.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe former \u201cProject Runway\u201d star who ran his business from Salt Lake City and also cofounded the nonprofit Creative Pacific Foundation, was fatally struck on June 14 during a march with thousands of people. The 29-year-old\u00a0was described as an \u201cinnocent bystander\u201d by the Salt Lake City Police Department in its preliminary investigation. After gunfire erupted after 8 p.m. MST, hundreds ran for safety, with some hiding in parking garages or behind barriers, and others went into nearby businesses. After Salt Lake City police officers arrived to secure the scene, they found a man who had been shot and immediately began lifesaving efforts. Ah Loo later died at a local\u00a0hospital.<\/p>\n
At the scene, Salt Lake City police officers found 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa on the ground with a gunshot wound and an AR-15 style rifle nearby. He was treated, taken into custody, and later released. In June, SLCPD said they detained two men, who were wearing neon green vests and were carrying handguns. They were said to be part of the peacekeeping movement. One of the men was said to have fired three rounds after Gamboa raised the rifle he was carrying and ran toward the crowd. One round struck Gamboa and another \u201ctragically wounded\u201d Ah Loo, according to the SLCPD in June.<\/p>\n
No one has been charged in relation to his death.<\/p>\n
\n\tLaura Ah Loo and her legal team, which includes Jim McConkle and Brian Stewart of Parker McConkle, held a press conference Wednesday. A photograph of the designer carrying a sign that read \u201cThe World is Watching\u201d was displayed. She said, \u201cMy husband believed that everyone \u2014 no matter of their background or their status \u2014 deserved to be seen, heard and loved.\u201d<\/p>\n
She and her\u00a0lawyers are calling for an independent investigation and reform to how protests are held in the city. Laura Ah Loo, the mother of two young children, described his\u00a0death as having been the result of \u201cindividual, organizational and systemic failures.\u201d She said she plans to file a lawsuit. \u201cResponsibility means that those who organize and who oversee public areas must prioritize transparency and\u00a0preparation\u2026responsibility is not just a talking point, it is a premier obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thousands knew the Samoan-born designer for participating in Season 17 of the Bravo show \u201cProject Runway.\u201d\u00a0Laura\u00a0Ah Loo said, \u201cAfa always stood\u00a0for those, who needed justice the most, and now I stand for him now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn response to the press conference, Salt Lake City\u2019s district attorney Sim Gill\u2019s office issued the following statement Wednesday,\u00a0\u201cWe sympathize with the pain and loss suffered by the Ah Loo family. We met with them early in the process and explained that this review would take time. We have been open and available to any reach in from their counsel, since our first meeting and continue to be. We are carefully working through a complex and nuanced legal analysis. We expect to reach a decision soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Media requests to the Salt Lake City Police\u00a0Department and to Parker McConkle were not\u00a0immediately returned on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Four months after the fashion designer Arthur \u201cAfa\u201d Ah Loo was killed during a \u201cNo Kings\u201d protest in Salt Lake City, his widow Laura is calling on officials for accountability in his death. The former \u201cProject Runway\u201d star who ran his business from Salt Lake City and also cofounded the nonprofit Creative Pacific Foundation, was fatally struck on June 14 during a march with thousands of people. The 29-year-old\u00a0was described as an \u201cinnocent bystander\u201d by the Salt Lake City Police Department in its preliminary investigation. After gunfire erupted after 8 p.m. MST, hundreds ran for safety, with some hiding in parking garages or behind barriers, and others went into nearby businesses. After Salt Lake City police officers arrived to secure the scene, they found a man who had been shot and immediately began lifesaving efforts. Ah Loo later died at a local\u00a0hospital. At the scene, Salt Lake City police officers found 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa on the ground with a gunshot wound and an AR-15 style rifle nearby. He was treated, taken into custody, and later released. In June, SLCPD said they detained two men, who were wearing neon green vests and were carrying handguns. They were said to be part of the peacekeeping movement. One of the men was said to have fired three rounds after Gamboa raised the rifle he was carrying and ran toward the crowd. One round struck Gamboa and another \u201ctragically wounded\u201d Ah Loo, according to the SLCPD in June. No one has been charged in relation to his death. Laura Ah Loo and her legal team, which includes Jim McConkle and Brian Stewart of Parker McConkle, held a press conference Wednesday. A photograph of the designer carrying a sign that read \u201cThe World is Watching\u201d was displayed. She said, \u201cMy husband believed that everyone \u2014 no matter of their background or their status \u2014 deserved to be seen, heard and loved.\u201d She and her\u00a0lawyers are calling for an independent investigation and reform to how protests are held in the city. Laura Ah Loo, the mot…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7929"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}