MANILA, Philippines (Updated 8:59 p.m.) — A Filipino tourist earlier reported killed after being caught in a random shooting incident in Philadelphia is alive but in critical condition, the Department of Foreign Affairs clarified Sunday night.
In a Twitter update on Sunday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. identified the man as John Laylo, a lawyer. Philippine Consulate General in New York Elmer Cato said Laylo was hit in the head by one of six bullets fired at the vehicle he was sharing with his mother.
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"We call on kababayan to pray hard with us so that Atty John Laylo, who we have just been informed remains on life support after yesterday’s random shooting incident in Philadelphia, would pull through," Cato said in an update on Sunday night.
In response. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. told Cato to "give him all the help you can, DFA will pay."`
Cato said that Laylo and his mother were on the way to the airport to catch a flight to Chicago at around 4 a.m. when someone shot at the Uber they were in.
"We call on authorities to bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice," he also said.
Laylo’s mother is in a hospital after being "slightly wounded by glass fragments."
The consulate is working on providing assistance to the family. The country’s foreign service post in New York holds jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, which is where the city of Philadelphia is located.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Arriola also said the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs will be on standby for Locsin’s orders and added that they are already coordinating with the consulate.
The shooter has yet to be caught and there is no report of the incident on the Philadelphia Police Department blotter. Calls for limiting access to firearms in the United States have been reignited following a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas last month.
In a June 6 post on the official website of Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney acknowledged that the city has seen an increase in gun violence in recent years.
"We cannot accept continued violence as a way of life in our country. And until we address the availability and ease of access to firearms, we will always be fighting an uphill battle," he also said. — Kaycee Valmonte
(Editor's note: An earlier version of this article reported Laylo's death based on Consul General Cato's statement. Cato has since reported that he had been informed that Laylo is on life support.)