Police downplay terrorism, say suspect a ‘sore loser’ in Philippine casino attack
MANILA — It started as a mass panic at the biggest hotel-casino resort in the Philippines over fears of an Islamic State terrorist attack. It ended with the police saying the assailant, who was killed, may have been a gambler with a grudge.
Patrons jumped off balconies and fled as police officers with bomb-sniffing dogs searched Resorts World Manila complex for armed attackers early Friday. At least two dozen people were reported hurt in their rush to escape.
Hours later, the police and hotel officials said initial reports and rumors that Islamic State gunmen had invaded and set fire to the hotel casino were false, and that one man — possibly an irate gambler armed with a rifle and can of gasoline — had shot a television and set a table ablaze.
Ronald dela Rosa, director general of the national police, said his officers exchanged fire with the gunman early Friday as he hid inside the hotel. The gunman was found dead.
Dela Rosa also said it was clear he was not a terrorist and instead possibly a “sore loser.”
“As of now the situation is going back to normal,” he said. “We’ve cleared everything.”
Dela Rosa’s description punctuated a cascade of confusing and sometimes contradictory accounts of what had unfolded at the casino hotel in the Pasay City neighborhood of the Philippine capital, just across from the international airport, starting just after midnight.
It came against the backdrop of a nation on edge because of a resurgent Islamist militant insurgency in the south, where President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law last week and said terrorist attacks were a possibility.
Early accounts on Twitter and in local media said gunmen may have stormed the casino hotel, and the sound of gunfire and explosions were heard. Patrons fled, and gray smoke was billowing from the building more than three hours later.
Dela Rosa told reporters the terrorism angle made no sense considering the gunman’s behavior.
“In fact, he passed by people,” the chief said describing video recordings of the gunman taken inside. “He didn’t mind them. He was carrying a liter of gasoline, set the table on fire. Maybe he’s mad at gambling. Why did he steal the chips? Maybe he’s a sore loser.”
“It’s too early to tell, but so far as far as we are concerned there was no indication that it was ISIS,” added dela Rosa. “If he were, he would have mowed down those gambling or exploded a bomb.”
Stephen Reilly, chief operating officer of Resorts World Manila, said all guests had been accounted for and were safe. At least one employee of the casino hotel, however, appeared to be missing.