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The lone suspect who launched a deadly attack on a casino and shopping complex in the Philippine capital that left dozens dead was a heavily indebted Filipino who was hooked on gambling, police say.
Key points:
- Police say new details confirm attacker was not a terrorist
- Gunman Jessie Carlos was a gambling addict who owed more than $US80,000
- Security footage show Carlos heading for storage room that contained poker chips
Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde said the man's immediate family confirmed his identity as Jessie Carlos — a married father of three and former Finance Department employee who owed more than $US80,000 ($107,000).
The revelations confirm the attack was "not an act of terrorism," Mr Albayalde told a news conference.
"This incident is confined to the act of one man alone as we have always said."
Authorities have repeatedly dismissed a claim of responsibility by the Islamic State group for the attack on Resorts World Manila.
The suspect's distraught mother, Teodora, wept during the news briefing and asked for forgiveness.
"We're asking for your apology. We can't accept ourselves that my son became like this, he was a very kind son," she said.
"He chose to end his life than kill and kill people."
"The message of what happened to my son is people should not get hooked on gambling so their families won't get destroyed," she said.
Attacker had sold off property to fund gambling: police
Mr Albayalde said Carlos had sold off property and a vehicle to support his gambling habit of at least several years.
His family had grown so concerned they had asked casinos in the capital to ban him since April 3.
The news came after authorities released security footage showing Carlos exiting a taxi just after midnight and walking calmly into the vast entertainment and gambling complex like any other visitor.
Shortly afterward, he dons a black ski mask, slips on an ammunition vest and pulls an M4 carbine assault rifle out of his backpack.
He then carries out an arson attack and robbery so methodical and unhurried, the gunman appears to walk much of the way — even as he exchanges fire with a security guard and flees, slightly wounded, up a stairwell.
At least 37 patrons and employees died, mostly from smoke inhalation as they tried to hide on the second floor, including one the casino's VIP rooms, Mr Albayalde said.
The gunman fled to an adjoining hotel, where police say he took his own life.
Video footage shown to reporters appears 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 was exactly why they wanted to release it.
In his first remarks on the assault, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the attacker was simply "crazy".
He questioned what the gunman was going to do with the $2 million horde of poker chips he had tried to haul away.
He also discounted any links to the Islamic State group, saying it was "not the work of ISIS. The work of the ISIS is more cruel and brutal."
Although the attacker was well armed — Mr 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.
Mr 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 am — only 11 minutes after his arrival.
Mr 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.
AP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, disasters-and-accidents, emergency-incidents, law-crime-and-justice, philippines, asia, pacific
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