What I'm reading is that the guy with a rifle, Gamboa, has attended protests armed before. It looks like the peacekeeper thought he was a shooter, but there's no evidence so far Gamboa did anything illegal.
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
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That is what I'm thinking. At first I went along with the speculation that Gamboa was intending to shoot into the crowd. But after reviewing the video, it looks more like he was just walking and open carrying with the rifle pointed down. It might not have been the best move in hindsight, but he had the legal right to do so.
Also after listening to his Slugmag interview I'm just not seeing the motivation for a mass shooting. Unless maybe he intended to shoot cops or something. He just doesn't seem to fit the profile & ideology of a mass shooter.
Edit: the interview if anyone is curious https://www.slugmag.com/soundwaves/episode-364-rade/
Which video are you talking about? Please provide a link.
EDIT: I think this is it. The short snippet shows the barrel pointed down. Having a masked gunman in a crowd of people is terrifying af!
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It looks like the peacekeeper thought he was a shooter
As he should.
Brandish a firearm in public, you are attempting to intimidate others, so you'll get treated like the terrorist you are.
Brandish a firearm in public
Be real careful applying the term "brandish".
Utah is a constitutional carry state, meaning anyone 21+ who can legally own a firearm can carry it concealed or openly without a permit.
In my state, Minnesota, you have to take a class and qualify to carry a firearm and during the state approved training your told to follow these steps:
- No force - avoidance, retreat or de-escalating
- No force - Telephone for help, Verbal warning
- Unarmed self defense
- Less than lethal - exposing firearm
- Deadly force - pointing the firearm at another person, shooting at someone, shooting and killing someone
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Isn't this what the NRA wants? Sounds like a good guy with a gun stopped a potential mass shooting.
I just posted elsewhere, but in short, there's no proof that Gamboa brandished a gun, and I've seen a video which looked like he was pointing the rifle downward. Not saying it can't go the other way once more info comes out, but just like when you shouldn't automatically take the police's word when they shoot someone, we shouldn't take the word of private security.
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I know Arturo, he was there to support the protests. He was NOT going to do a mass shooting, as he has taken his gun to at least one other protest with no incident.
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That's not the law, or reality in America. It's a regular occurrence at certain protests for people to open carry weapons. Not saying I would do it, but it's not sufficient cause to shoot someone.
Open carry and brandish have distinct legal definitions.
This gif isn't loading on my phone, but supposedly it's the same as a video I had seen earlier - it shows Gamboa walking towards the street but his rifle is pointed down. It also shows the yellow vested people pointing their guns toward him. If the gif also doesn't work for you, scroll further up in the thread to at least see screenshots. The op of that thread, Chad Loder, has been commenting on this shooting a fair amount. https://bsky.app/profile/nope-notnow.bsky.social/post/3lrp7xsx3vs22
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Brandishing a weapon is not the same as carrying it. Brandishing is what you do when moving the firearm in a way that indicates you are threatening to shoot. In the worst case, it involves pointing the firearm at someone.
If someone purposely points a firearm at you, you have every right to fire in self defence. At least those were the rules of engagement we were taught regarding interactions with civilians at home when I was in the army.
This gif isn't loading on my phone, but supposedly it's the same as a video I had seen earlier - it shows Gamboa walking towards the street but his rifle is pointed down. It also shows the yellow vested people pointing their guns toward him. If the gif also doesn't work for you, scroll further up in the thread to at least see screenshots. The op of that thread, Chad Loder, has been commenting on this shooting a fair amount. https://bsky.app/profile/nope-notnow.bsky.social/post/3lrp7xsx3vs22
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The only people brandishing in the video are the self-described "peacekeepers" who are aiming their pistols into the crowd. The open-carrier isn't even looking their way and appears just as surprised as everyone else when one of these peacekeepers starts blasting (with minimal awareness or concern for whomever else was downrange).
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Yeah in another thread there's an interview of the rifleman from his time in a punk band talking about the system. This is likely going to be a shit show when the partisan pundits pick it up
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Oh look. A conservative traitor instigated the violence.
I am many shades of unsurprised.
Domestic terrorists folks. Every last one. Because they've all chosen to support it despite knowing. Time to start treating them like the terrorists they are.
It's being reported that Arturo is an activist who regularly open-carries in support at protests. Meanwhile you're making confidently incorrect claims that he is a conservative traitor and terrorist. Stay classy.
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Maybe guns are bad, and maybe if you bring a rifle to a high tense situation and hold it in any manner that may seem threatening, you deserve to get shot. Super sad that an innocent died. Had the "good guy" with a gun hit the target only, then at least there would only be one less moron carrying an AR-15 today, not a sad casualty.
Yup. If you brandish a firearm in public, you are clearly trying to intimidate others. You deserve to be shot down.
Does this apply to the people that open carry AR-15s when they go to McDonalds?
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Welcome to a country where "protest peacekeepers" carry guns, and can shoot into the crowd and put the blame on someone else whi just happened to be armed as well.
Do you, American brothers, realize the sheer level of insanity you live in?
I assume the national guard and marines will roam the syreets of SLC now.
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