(Updated) - Police have identified the lone gunman in the Resorts World Manila attack that killed 38 people as a heavily indebted high-roller who had been barred by casino operator Philippine Amusement Gambling and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) from all its outlets.
Jessie Javier Carlos, 42, a resident of San Lazaro, Metro Manila, had allegedly racked up debts of about P4 million (roughly $80,000), said National Capital Region Police Office director Oscar Albayalde in a press conference Sunday, June 4.
Albayalde reiterated that the Resorts World incident was "not an act of terrorism," but the work of one man who was hooked on gambling and apparently held resentment toward Pagcor.
"This incident is confined to the act of one man alone as we have always said," Albayalde said.
He said Carlos was a high-roller with a minimum bet of P40,000. He was a former Department of Finance (DOF) employee.
He and his wife were estranged because of his gambling problem, although they have continued to live in the same house. He left behind three children.
Albayalde said Carlos had sold off property to support his gambling habit of at least several years, including a vehicle. His family had grown so concerned they had asked casinos in Metro Manila to ban Carlos since April 3.
Carlos was not a regular patron of Resorts World, but had frequented a different casino in Metro Manila.
The suspect's parents, who were also at the press conference held by Albayalde, identified Carlos and asked for forgiveness on behalf of their son.
Carlos, armed with a baby armalite and about two liters of gasoline, set fire to gambling tables inside the Resorts World Manila before dawn Friday, June 2, and took P113.1 million worth of gambling chips.
When the smoke cleared, 37 bodies were found on the casino's gambling floors. The victims died from suffocation, police said. Carlos was later found in an adjacent hotel, his body charred. He had apparently set himself on fire as well.
Authorities have repeatedly dismissed a claim of responsibility by the Islamic State group for the Resorts World attack.
The Philippines has faced Muslim insurgencies for decades, though much of the violence has occurred in Mindanao, where ongoing battles with Islamic militants are taking place in the city of Marawi.
The news came after authorities released died, mostly from smoke inhalation as they tried to hide on the second floor, including one the casino's VIP rooms, Albayalde said. The gunman fled to an adjoining hotel, where police say he killed himself.
The video footage shown to reporters Saturday appeared to bolster the government's case that this was a botched robbery by a lone attacker with no known link to terrorism. Police said that's exactly why they wanted to release it.
In his first remarks on the assault, President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday that the attacker was simply "crazy."
He questioned what the gunman was going to do with the P113-million horde of poker chips he had tried to haul away. He also discounted any links to the Islamic State group, saying this "is not the work of ISIS. The work of the ISIS is more cruel and brutal."
Despite some initially contradictory accounts of the chaos, what is known so far appears to back up that claim.
Although the attacker was well armed — Albayalde said he was carrying 90 bullets in three rifle clips — there are no confirmed reports that he shot any civilians. Instead, he fired into the ceilings, scattering panicked crowds, some of whom jumped out windows to escape what they believed to be a terror attack.
Albayalde said the security footage contained a clear motive: the gunman headed straight for a storage room that contained poker chips. He is seen shooting through several thick white doors, breaking down one of them at 12:18 a.m. Friday — only 11 minutes after his arrival. Abayalde suggested he set fires as a diversionary tactic and his next move was to try to get out.
More than 12,000 people were in the complex at the time; most were successfully evacuated. (SunStar Philippines/AP)