Attorney visiting from Philippines dead after drive-by shooting in University City

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio/AP) — A government attorney from the Philippines who was visiting Philadelphia died on Sunday after someone had shot several rounds of gunfire at him and his mother, police said.

John Albert Laylo, 35, and his mother were in an Uber, on their way to Philadelphia International Airport to board a flight early Saturday morning. They were stopped at a red light on 38th Street, near Spruce Street, near the University of Pennsylvania, when someone in a black car behind them, possibly a Nissan Maxima, fired into their car, police said.

John Albert Laylo and his mother were in an Uber, stopped at a red light on 38th Street, near Spruce Street, when someone in a black car behind them fired into their car, police said.
John Albert Laylo and his mother were in an Uber, stopped at a red light on 38th Street, near Spruce Street, when someone in a black car behind them fired into their car, police said. Photo credit NBC 10
John Albert Laylo and his mother were in this Uber, on their way to Philadelphia International Airport early Saturday morning, when someone in a black car behind them opened fire.
John Albert Laylo and his mother were in this Uber, on their way to Philadelphia International Airport early Saturday morning, when someone in a black car behind them opened fire. Photo credit NBC 10

Investigators say the suspect then pulled up next to the Uber and continued to fire before driving off.

Laylo was shot in the back of the head and taken to a hospital, shortly after 4 a.m. He was pronounced dead Sunday around 10:30 a.m., police said.

John Albert Laylo and his mother were on their way to Philadelphia International airport, after visiting family in the city, when he was shot and killed.
John Albert Laylo and his mother were on their way to Philadelphia International airport, after visiting family in the city, when he was shot and killed. Photo credit courtesy of Leah Bustamante Laylo

Philippine Consul General Elmer Cato met Laylo’s mother at the hospital and said she was slightly injured by glass fragments during the shooting.

She posted on Facebook that her son was smart, generous, loving, caring, and loved to travel. She wrote that her son had a lot of dreams and plans, and her heart is heavy.

“Never did I imagine or dream that ... the end of our vacation will be like this!” Leah Bustamante Laylo wrote in a post accompanied by snapshots of her and her son touring sites in New York, Washington and Philadelphia. “We travelled together and we are supposed to go home together! I will bring him home soon in a box!”

Police said the driver of the Uber was not hurt.

At this point, investigators have not said what may have motivated the shooter, but Leah called it a “random shooting” on Facebook. Police have not made any arrests and are combing through surveillance footage from 38th Street between Walnut Street and University Avenue to get a better look at the suspect’s car.

Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call 215-686-8477  or submit an anonymous tip online.

Cato said he assured Laylo’s mother the Philippine government will help in bringing his remains back home. “We are also in touch with police authorities and have underscored the importance of our request for them to bring the perpetrator of this incident to justice,” Cato said in a statement.

John Albert Laylo and his mother had visited New York City and Washington, D.C., before coming to Philadelphia.
John Albert Laylo and his mother had visited New York City and Washington, D.C., before coming to Philadelphia. Photo credit courtesy of Leah Bustamante Laylo
John Albert Laylo and his mother are shown at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
John Albert Laylo and his mother are shown at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo credit courtesy of Leah Bustamante Laylo

Laylo had worked in Manila as a legislative staffer for opposition Sen. Leila de Lima from 2016 to 2018 then left to take up graduate studies. “He was so young and still full of dreams,” de Lima said Monday in Manila and expressed hope the suspect would immediately be held to account “for the brutal and senseless act.”

Cato, who is based in New York, said the mother and son were on their way to catch a flight to Chicago, then were to fly to California en route to Manila.

They were in Philadelphia to visit the victim’s cousin, and the shooting happened about five minutes after Laylo and his mother left his cousin’s apartment, Cato said.

Featured Image Photo Credit: courtesy of Leah Bustamante Laylo