Arthur Folasa Ah Loo has been named as the man who was fatally shot during a ‘No Kings’ protest in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, Saturday night. Confirming his death, the Salt Lake City Police described the 39-year-old as an “innocent bystander.”
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the 39-year-old man who was killed and with the many community members who were impacted by this traumatic incident,” the department chief, Brian Redd, said in a statement. Ah Loo was one of the estimated 10,000 participants of an anti-Trump ‘No Kings‘ demonstration. He is not believed to have been the intended target of the shooting as an individual accidentally shot Ah Loo while he and another man were allegedly waving a rifle at the protesters.
The Salt Lake City shooting victim, who was a self-taught designer, died at the hospital. He is survived by his wife and two young children, according to a GoFundMe page. The post reads, “Afa was a proud Samoan, deeply connected to his culture and community. Through his work with the nonprofit Creative Pacific and his incredible talent as a fashion designer, he shared his heritage with passion and creativity. But more than anything, Afa was proud of the life he built with his wife, Laura, and their two beautiful children, Vera and Isaac.”
Who was Arthur Folasa Ah Loo?
The 39-year-old man was best known as a contestant of the fashion design competition series Project Runway. As the first Samoan to steal the spotlight on the Bravo reality show, he joined the competition in 2019. As his close friend, State Rep Verona Mauga praised him, saying, “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.”
Arthur Folasa Ah Loo also won over his own red carpet moment as Hawaiian actor Auliʻi Cravalho walked down Moana 2’s premiere in Hawaii wearing an outfit designed by him last November. In addition to dressing Cravalho, the self-taught artist even designed garments for Gold House Gala (Los Angeles) guests.
The actress went on to express grief on finding out about Ah Loo’s demise. Saying there were “no words to hold the grief of losing,” she wrote on Instagram, “My deepest condolences, sympathies and Aloha to his family, and all who felt his impact.”
Born in Samoa, Ah Loo was affectionately known as Afa among his loved ones. A close friend of the deceased, the state rep, told AP that designer was committed to doing “good things for his neighbours and community.” He had lived in Utah for about a decade, according to his pal Benjamin Powell.
As a hair salon innovator from Fiji, Powell co-founded Create Pacific – an organisation devoted to spotlighting artists from the Pacific Islands – with Ah Loo. The professional pals had also joined forced for an upcoming August fashion show when the Project Runway star died. Powell has since revealed that the show will go on, but not without honouring his friend’s love and devotion to his community.
Mauga further noted that Ah Loo spent his last moments doing what he believed in. “If Afa was going to go out any other way than natural causes, it would be standing up for marginalized and vulnerable communities and making sure that people had a voice,” she said. Highlighting that that designer, who “cared about making a difference,” was “just very involved in whatever was going on in the community.”
According to Afa Ah Loo’s official website, he even offered online sewing classes and workshops.