'It's frustrating': Arturo Gamboa's mother on waiting for charging decision in 'No Kings' shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — As Utahns prepare to take to the streets Saturday to participate in No Kings rallies scheduled across the country, the events are a sharp reminder of the fatal shooting that occurred at a No Kings march in Salt Lake City in June.

An armed man identified as a "peacekeeper" saw a man with a rifle and shot three times, wounding 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa and killing 39-year-old Arthur Folasa Ah Loo.

According to police, Gamboa didn't shoot anyone, but he was arrested and held in jail for six days while the peacekeeper's identity has still not been released by officials.

In an exclusive interview with the KSL Investigators, Gamboa's mother, Elizabeth, said months later, her family is still living in an uncertain legal limbo as they wait to find out whether charges will be filed.

"We are struggling. It's hard day to day," said Elizabeth. "I'm doing the same thing that everyone else is doing, just wondering when."

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case but has not yet decided who, if anyone, will face criminal charges.

"It's always there, always in the forefront of everybody's mind, especially (Arturo's)," Elizabeth said. "It's frustrating not knowing anything."

At the advice of Arturo's attorney, Elizabeth did not discuss details about the case but agreed to speak with KSL about how waiting months for a charging decision is impacting her family. She said Arturo has healed physically from a "through and through" gunshot wound and is working to establish as much normalcy as he can in his daily life.

"He will be working through it for quite some time," Elizabeth said. "A very, very long time."

Salt Lake City police arrested Gamboa in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Even though he never fired a shot, investigators recommended that he be charged with murder based on witness accounts of how he was handling the rifle he was carrying at the rally.

"People said horrible things," Elizabeth said, reflecting on online discourse at the time of his arrest. "That's not my son. That's not Arturo. It's not the person that he is. He is a humanitarian. He loves people."

Several days after his arrest, Arturo's defense attorney asked the courts to order his release, arguing that he lawfully possessed his firearm at the rally, that the gun was not loaded, and that video evidence from the scene showed he "did not raise or brandish his rifle," but rather "the 'peacekeeper' opened fire" on him from behind.

A judge granted Gamboa's release, and Elizabeth was there at the jail to pick him up in an emotional reunion captured on camera.

"It was so many tears, and we hugged, and I just told him that I loved him and that I was here," she recalled. "I just said, 'I'm here, I'm here. And I love you.'"

In the four months since then, Utahns, including Elizabeth, have been waiting for answers. She said she hopes to see Gamboa cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

In a statement provided to KSL on Friday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill wrote, "In the death of Arthur Folasa Ah Loo we have a unique scenario that we are trying to be as thoughtful and careful about it as we can. We appreciate everyone's patience as we work through the intricacies of this incident, as we are trying to ensure we are doing the right thing."

As difficult as it is waiting, Elizabeth noted, "We aren't the only family that's going through this."

"We grieve for the Ah Loo family, and we keep them in our thoughts and prayers every single day," she said. "I can't even imagine what they are are going through, what they went through, what they're continuing to go through, and what they'll go through for the rest of their lives."

Elizabeth said Gamboa does not plan to attend any of the No Kings rallies in Utah on Saturday.

Gamboa is represented by attorney Greg Skordas, KSL legal analyst and host of "Inside Sources" on KSL NewsRadio.

Related topics