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 say Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, who went by “Afa,” was not the intended target of the gunfire.
Police say at the event, two armed security members saw a man, later identified as Arturo Gamboa, run into the crowd with an AR-15 style rifle.
Security members fired three rounds, fatally hitting Ah Loo.
Ah Loo grew up in Samoa, attended BYU Hawaii, and ran his own eponymous fashion house.
He was a husband and a father of two.
In a social media post Monday, Hawaii actress Aulii Cravalho said that Ah Loo was behind the designs she wore for the world premiere of “Moana 2” in November.
She wrote, “Afa’s creations are and remain thoughtful, elegant and powerful portrayals of Pacific culture.”
Ah Loo also led sewing workshops and co-founded the Creative Pacific Foundation.
Ah Loo’s friends and family created a GoFundMe to help his family with the unexpected passing.
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