Know the enemy
The Isis terror group doesn’t have dibs on every wanton violence committed against humanity around the world. The public needs to know this. The knowledge might have made a difference in the number of casualties at the Resorts World Manila in Pasay City last Friday when a man, who casually entered the casino complex, brought out an M4 assault rifle.
Fleeing customers and employees screamed “ISIS,” probably fueling the pandemonium that ensued.
The man was later identified as 43-yearold Jessie Javier Carlos, a father of three and a former employee of the Department of Finance who was heavily in debt because of his gambling addiction.
He had been banned from all casinos operated by the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., at his family’s request, since April.
At the onset, police immediately denied that the perpetrator was a member of a terrorist network.
They stuck to their story even when US President Donald Trump—an adherent of alternative truths--tagged the incident as a “terrorist attack.”
They also didn’t budge when the Islamic State, on its Amaq news agency website, claimed responsibility for the assault, saying it was carried out by its fighters.
Footage from several security cameras in the vast establishment support the police’s stand.
Carlos did fire shots inside, but he didn’t aim them at anyone in particular. As for the casualties, all 37 of them died from smoke suffocation after Carlos set fire to gambling tables and several slot machines.
Most of them were found in the main area where there were three fire exits, but thick smoke might have prevented them from escaping.
The others were found in the toilet. The was no indication that they were trapped, they just didn’t get out. They were probably too afraid to fall in the hands of “ISIS” members. The sad part is their paranoia was justified. After all, it hasn’t even been two months since government troops clashed with members of the Abu Sayyaf in Inabanga, Bohol on April 11.
Then last May 23, members of the Maute group laid siege to Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur.
Government troops may have gained control of most of the city, but the radical Islamic group is reportedly still entrenched in the business district. To this day.
And let’s not forget, the public has been programed to report suspicious activities and suspicious-looking persons.
And it was as suspicious as it could get what happened at Resorts World Manila last Friday.
Given this scenario, it would help explain why those who had a chance to escape didn’t, and ended up paying with their lives instead.