A government attorney from the Philippines was shot dead in an Uber while on a vacation to Philadelphia. Identified as John Albert Laylo, 35, the victim was also accompanied by his mother who sustained minor wounds from the attack.
According to police officials, the 35-year-old attorney and his mother were on their way to the Philadelphia International Airport in an Uber on Saturday. As they stopped at a red light near the University of Pennsylvania around 4:10 a.m. they were approached by what investigators believe a black car, which fired several rounds into the Uber.
At first the rounds were fired from behind the Uber then the black car pulled up on the driver's side and fired more gunshots, 6abc Action reported.
Laylo had taken a hit at the back of his head and was immediately transported to the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center by the University of Pennsylvania police. Initially he was in a critical condition but he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday at 10:33 a.m.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the attorney's traumatized mother, Leah Bustamante Laylo, took to Facebook on June 19, when her son was in a critical condition, stating that they had been on "a very well-deserved vacation."
In the post she included a few pictures of her and her son enjoying their time by visiting tourists spots of New York, Washington and Philadelphia. Laylo and his mother had been in Philadelphia since June 9.
"Never did I imagine or dream that ... the end of our vacation will be like this!" heartbroken Leah wrote, "We travelled together and we are supposed to go home together! I will bring him home soon in a box!"
Laylo was a member of the Philippine Bar and worked at the Senate of the Philippines. With expertise in political and commercial law, he often assisted in drafting legislations and was also an associate partner, as per the Central European University's official website, where Laylo completed his masters in law.
Elmer G Cato, the Philippine Consulate General in New York has gone to Philadelphia to be with Laylo's family.
The perpetrator is still on the loose, and the homicide detectives are currently investigating the case and will be looking at the surveillance video too. There has also been no disclosure of a suspected motive behind the attack, the authorities have also not revealed if the attorney and his mother or even the Uber driver were intentionally targeted.
