Philippine government official shot in US during Uber ride to airport

by · Washington Examiner

Philippine officials are imploring U.S. police to find the person responsible for killing a Philippine government attorney in Philadelphia over the weekend.

John Albert Laylo, 35, was traveling via Uber to the Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday to catch a flight back home to the Philippines when someone from a black car unleashed gunfire on his Uber ride, according to police. Laylo was pronounced dead on Sunday.

DOMINICAN MINISTER SHOT DEAD

"John was struck in the head by one of several bullets that were fired into the Maxima. His mother was slightly wounded by glass fragments," Philippine Consul General Elmer Cato said in a statement, per Inquirer. "We continue to coordinate with authorities and underscored the importance the Philippine government places on this case."

Laylo was traveling alongside his mother, who was also injured after sustaining wounds from shattered glass. The status of the Uber driver is unknown. At this point in the investigation, police say they believe the attack was random or the result of road rage, according to CBS Philadelphia. Police are conducting an investigation, and a suspect has not yet been identified.

The shooting happened while the vehicle was stopped at a red light, and authorities are working to obtain surveillance footage to gather more details about the incident. Laylo was initially rushed to the hospital in critical condition after being struck by gunfire to his head and was placed on life support until he died.

"Never did I imagine or dream that … the end of our vacation will be like this!" his mother wrote in a Facebook post following the shooting. "We traveled together and we are supposed to go home together! I will bring him home soon in a box!"

She posted photos to Facebook of her gleefully posing next to Laylo at key tourist attractions in New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

"No more pain no more sufferings I know Papa Jesus is embracing you already," she wrote.

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Cato said the shooting took place approximately five minutes after Laylo and his mother departed from his cousin's apartment, the New York Post reported. Cato has pledged that the Philippine government will assist in returning Laylo's remains back to the Philippines.