A lawyer from the Philippines has become one of the latest victims of gun violence in the United States. He was on vacation with his mother when he was shot in the city of Philadelphia on Saturday.
John Laylo, 35, was on the way to the Philadelphia International Airport with his mother when an unknown gunman, riding in a black vehicle, fired multiple shots from behind the Uber he was riding. Laylo was shot in the head while his mother sustained injuries.
He had been in the States since June 9 and was set to return home to the Philippines on the day he was shot.
Laylo was brought to a local hospital where he arrived in critical condition. His sister, Althea, tweeted that her brother was fighting hard for his survival despite having a “less than 5 percent condition of surviving.”
“We were told he only had less than 5 percent chance of surviving. But now, miracles are starting to happen. He squeezed my mom’s hand 3 times and started mildly breathing on his own. Thank you so much for the prayers and I am begging you all to please keep praying. He was undergoing a test to confirm if he is brain dead, but he responded. He will be having another test in an hour, please stand with us in prayer. Miracles are real,” she wrote.
But eventually, Laylo succumbed to his injuries. He passed away at 10:33am today.
Laylo’s mother, who posted several photos of herself with her son online, wrote that she was still in shock over what happened.
“I thank God for the 35 years of his life. I’m beyond grateful for having a good, smart, generous, loving, caring son these are the adjectives I can think of now. I’m lost [for words],” Leah Laylo wrote on Facebook.
Laylo was also a former member of senator and political prisoner Leila de Lima’s legislative team. De Lima expressed her condolences on Twitter.
The circumstances surrounding Laylo’s fatal shooting remain unclear. Authorities have not released any information on suspects or possible motives, nor have any arrests been made.
