Samoan fashion designer shot, killed at ‘No Kings’ protest

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Samoan fashion designer and former “Project Runway” contestant was killed in Utah by a stray bullet during the “No Kings” protest on Saturday.

Salt Lake City police said that Arthur Folasa “Afa” Ah Loo, 39, “was not the intended target of the gunfire.”

Police said that during the protest, two armed security members, or “peacekeepers,” saw a man, later identified as 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa, run into the crowd with an AR-15 style rifle while holding it in a “firing position.”

As a result, one of the “peacekeepers” fired three shots, one striking Gamboa, and a second one fatally striking Ah Loo.

First responders administered lifesaving efforts and transported Ah Loo to a local hospital where he later died.

Ah Loo, a husband and father of two, grew up in Samoa and attended BYU Hawaii. He got his big break on “Project Runway” in 2019, and ran his own eponymous fashion house. He dedicated some of his collections to his children.

In 2024, Ah Loo dressed Hawaii’s “Moana” actress Auli’i Cravalho and “Moana 2″ co-director David Derrick Jr., for the film’s world premier in November.

In a social media post Monday, the Hawaii actress posted to social media following the news, saying there were “no words to hold the grief of losing” Ah Loo, and “As a Samoan fashion designer, Afa’s creations are and remain thoughtful, elegant and powerful portrayals of Pacific culture.”

Derrick also posted a tribute to social media saying “I already miss you Uso,” and “Thank you for blessing our lives.”

Ah Loo also led sewing workshops and co-founded the Creative Pacific Foundation, an organization that aimed at uplifting Pacific Islander artists and designers.

Ah Loo’s friends and family created a GoFundMe to help his family with the unexpected passing.