PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Community members gathered for a vigil Monday evening near Penn Presbyterian Medical Center to remember an attorney from the Philippines who was fatally shot while sitting inside an Uber over the weekend.
Members of John Laylo’s family were not in attendance, but those who gathered near the crime scene held candles and offered the family help after he was critically wounded in a drive-by shooting early Saturday morning in University City, then died Sunday.
After the vigil started with prayer, several speakers brought attention to Philadelphia’s gun violence problem.
“Our communities may be diverse, but the grief and the pain are the same,” one speaker said. “The agony felt by John's mother is the same as felt by many parents whose children were victims of gun violence in our cities.”
Laylo, whom his mother called “Jal,” traveled with her from the Philippines to visit their cousin here in Philadelphia.
The two rode in an Uber early Saturday morning. Philadelphia Police said someone in a black car fired a gun into the back of the Uber. The shooter then pulled up next to them and continued to shoot before driving away.
Laylo, 35, died from his injuries Sunday morning.
“Somebody did it,” said Chris Rivera with the Filipino-American Association of Philadelphia. “So my understanding is, the end goal is to hold somebody accountable.”
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“We needed to show unity for our community here, not only the Filipino community but also for Philadelphia,” said Noel Abejo with the Filipino Executive Council of Greater Philadelphia.
“I just couldn’t believe it. Especially for a Filipino visitor. It’s pretty embarrassing and tragic at the same time.”
In a statement read at the vigil, family members said John was a pillar of strength, and called the attorney a one-of-a-kind person.
As of early Monday evening, police had not released a motive or arrested anyone in connection to the fatal shooting.
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