Philadelphia Community Holds Vigil For Filipino Government Attorney John Albert Laylo Shot, Killed In University City
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police believe the fatal shooting of Filipino attorney John Albert Laylo was a case of mistaken identity. Community members on Monday night gathered near Penn Presbyterian Hospital to hold a vigil for Laylo, the government attorney who was shot and killed in University City while visiting from the Philippines.
The Philippines consulate general is expected to meet with local authorities sometime soon. In the meantime, the Filipino community says they are grieving with John Albert Laylo's family.
"I'm lost of words," Leah Bustamante Taylor wrote in a Facebook post. "Before he left, he made sure we had fun."
Surrounded by members of the Filipino community, Chris Rivera read a Facebook post from Leah Bustamante Taylor, the mother who lost her son when a vacation in the City of Brotherly Love ended with gunfire.
"We traveled together and we are supposed to go home together," Taylor wrote. "I will bring him home soon in a box."
Taylor's son John Albert Laylo, also known as Jal, was killed when a gunman opened fire on their Uber early Saturday morning as they were headed to Philadelphia International Airport.
The 35-year-old government lawyer from the Philippines was shot in the head and pronounced dead the next day.
"We light these candles for the surviving family of John to represent the peace and justice they seek," Rivera said.
At a vigil Monday, people who say they didn't know Laylo personally came to show a united front.
They say the victim, whose clients include the vice president of the Philippines and two senators, had big hopes and dreams.
"This is hard because they're not even from here," Maria Reyes said.
Philadelphia police initially said it was a random road rage shooting.
Monday evening, they announced it was, in fact, targeted but a case of mistaken identity. Investigators say surveillance video shows the gunman was in a black Cadillac next to another Nissan before firing as many as 15 shots in the wrong vehicle.
"The most important thing right now is the family's grief and doing everything that we can possibly do to help them navigate this horrible incident," David Zisser said, "but I believe at the same time, to really do the family justice, we need to consider all of the circumstances that were involved in this killing."
Laylo's mother suffered minor injuries from shattered glass.
The Uber driver was not injured.
Uber released a statement saying their thoughts are with the family and they hope an arrest is made quickly.
