Police: At least 36 dead in Philippine casino resort; suspect killed himself

by Dramelin 7:00 AM 0 comments

Gunshots, explosions and a fire erupted early Friday at the sprawling Resorts World Manila, a casino and resort on Manila Bay in the Philippines, resulting in at least 36 deaths, authorities said.
The Philippine police chief said there was no evidence that the casino attack is terrorism and no confirmed reports of gunshot wounds.
The BBC reported that the attack was carried out by a lone gunman who was attempting a robbery.
Police later said the suspect was found dead of an apparent suicide at an adjacent hotel on Friday.
Metropolitan Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde said the bodies were found in smoky rooms by firefighters and all died from suffocation and smoke inhalation.
None of the bodies had gunshot wounds.
In Washington, President Trump, however, issued a statement saying the White House was monitoring the situation.
"It`s really very sad what`s going on throughout the world with terror," he added.
A member of the local Red Cross team said at least 25 people were injured, The Manila Times reports.
The newspaper quotes Fernando Atienza, a local Red Cross team leader, as saying many of the victims suffered serious injuries from jumping from the second floor of the hotel.
Witnesses told police that gunmen wearing masks and black shirts opened fire inside the hotel, ABS-CBN News reports.
One employee, who described himself as a casino dealer, said one of the attackers poured flammable liquid on one of the casino tables and set it on fire, ABS-CBN said.
Although national police chief Ronald dela Rosa found no terrorist tie, the SITE Intelligence group, a U.
-based group that tracks extremist groups, said an operative for the Islamic State claimed that the group was responsible for the attack.
Resorts World Manila, which bills itself as the country`s largest casino resort, is located in Pasay City, which is part of metropolitan Manila.
The incident erupted at a time of unrest by extremist groups elsewhere in the country.
 On May 23, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao to combat what he said was a rebellion by Islamic State radicals in that southern Philippines island.
Contributing: The Associated Press Read or Share this story: https://usat.