Footage shows casino gunman firing in air
manila — The gunman in a deadly casino rampage in the Philippines was seen on security camera footage firing his gun in the air, setting fires and shooting at security forces as he moved through the building during an attack that left at least 38 people dead.
Daesh has claimed responsibility for the rampage early on Friday, but authorities say it looked like a botched robbery and that there was no obvious link to terrorism. The victims appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, police said.
At a news conference on Saturday, authorities showed the security footage to the media and said the gunman’s identity was still unknown. The taxi driver who dropped the man off at the casino said the man spoke Tagalog and was alone, said Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde.
“If he was a suicide terrorist, then he would have gone on a killing spree,” metropolitan Albayalde told AP earlier on Saturday. “And yet he killed no one, even those people running in front of him. He was even saying, ‘Get out! Get out!’”
National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa also said the attack did not appear to be terrorism, but he cautioned that authorities still know very little about the attacker.
“What if we establish the identity and there are leads that will lead toward terrorism? So our findings, our conclusion, will possibly change,” he told DZMM radio. —