‘Project Runway’ Contestant Killed at No Kings Rally in Salt Lake City

“Project Runway” contestant Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, was tragically killed at the No Kings rally in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

DailyMail.com reports Ah Loo, known as Afa, is believed to have been an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire when a gunman showed up at the peaceful protest.

The outlet explained that a man named Arturo Gamboa, 24, was spotted running toward the crowd with a rifle, so peacekeepers opened fire. The gunman received a minor injury and was arrested, while Ah Loo was shot and killed.

Arthur’s friend, Utah Rep. Verona Mauga, told KSL TV she saw the designer earlier that day at the rally, but at the time he was killed, he was with another group of friends.

She said when the shots were fired, people ran, and his friends later realized something was wrong. “When they didn’t hear back from Afa, that’s when everyone realized something wrong may have happened,” the rep said.

The No Kings rallies took place across America to protest President Trump’s birthday parade and his policies.

“Afa is a person who believed in equity and equality for all people and all communities,” Mauga said. “He believed that everyone was deserving of basic human rights. And that’s why he was there. He was with his community and he was with people he cared about, marching and rallying for all of those things that make our community, like, really great.”

She said Ah Loo recently became an American citizen. “Afa just recently voted in his first election, in 2024,” Mauga revealed. “He was so excited and proud to do that. Afa wanted to be very much a part of what America is and a part of the American dream.”

Mauga also spoke of his talent, saying, “Afa is a Samoan fashion designer, the first Samoan to make it on ‘Project Runway,’ And that was a big deal, to have someone of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage be able to break into the fashion industry, and he’s done amazing work for fabulous people.”

Ah Loo was a married father of two young children. He participated in Season 17 of “Project Runway” in 2019. He was eliminated in episode four.