A government official from the Philippines was killed while taking an Uber to the airport in Philadelphia.
A black car opened fire on John Albert Laylo and his mother while their Uber was stopped at a red light near the University of Pennsylvania at roughly 4:10 A.M. on June 18. The pair had reportedly just left a relative’s apartment in the city.
Both victims were transported to a Penn Presbyterian Hospital where Laylo was pronounced dead. His mother, Leah, was treated for injuries sustained while glass shattered during the attack. She was met at the hospital by Philippine Consul General Elmer Cato.
“I said a prayer for [Laylo] and assured him that we will do everything we can to bring him home as soon as possible,” Cato said on Twitter following the incident.
Cato said the 35-year-old lawyer died in a “random shooting incident.”
“We ask kababayan to join us in praying for the eternal repose of his soul,” Cato said in a separate statement. “We call on authorities to bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice.”
Kababayan is a Filipino terms meaning “fellow countrymen.”
Police did not say if that Uber driver was injured or if the government official had been intentionally targeted, per AP News. Homicide detectives are currently investigating the case and are collecting surveillance footage that may have recorded the shooting.
The shooter has not yet been identified and the motive remains unknown, per CBS Philly.
From 2016 to 2018, Laylo worked on the staff of Filipino Senator Leila de Lima in Manila before entering graduate school.
“Too many guns,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in a statement to WPVI-TV. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a tourist from the Philippines or one of our native-born Philadelphians, there are too many damn guns in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.”
According to data released by City Controller Rebbecca Rhynhart on June 16, there have been 208 fatal shootings and 836 nonfatal shootings in Philadelphia during 2022. The majority (86%) involved men, the majority of whom (78%) were between the ages of 18 and 45.
“In an effort to combat surging violence and a shortage of officers, a joint public safety program launched earlier this month between the Philadelphia Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police to bolster the presence of law enforcement in areas of the city hit the hardest by crime,” reports Fox News.
The Pennsylvania State Police reported that roughly 78% of homicides, 42% of robberies and 25% of aggravated assaults in 2021 involved a firearm.
