“Emotionally Disturbed Individual” Blamed For Manila Resort “Robbery” That Killed 36
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Jun 2, 2017
As an ISIS-inspired insurgency rages in the country’s south, Philippines’ authorities are assuring the public that an attack on a luxury resort in Manila that left more than three dozen dead wasn’t an act of terrorism, but was, in fact, a robbery.
A gunman armed with a “baby armalite” rifle burst into the Resorts World Manila casino on Friday and started firing off shots and setting gaming tables alight on Friday, authorities said, before making his way to the back of the casino where he stole several million dollars’ worth of gambling chips. Most of the dead suffocated on the thick smoke, according to Reuters. However, despite authorities assurances, the high death toll and brazen nature of the attack suggest that terrorism may have been the underlying motivation. US terrorism monitor the Site Intelligence Group said an Islamic State-linked Filipino operative claimed “lone wolf soldiers” of ISIS were responsible for the attack, according to the Guardian.
“All indications point to a criminal act by an apparently emotionally disturbed individual,” Ernesto Abella, a spokesman for Duterte, told a news conference. “Although the perpetrator gave warning shots, there apparently was no indication that he wanted to do harm or shoot anyone.”
The gunman killed himself in his hotel room after being shot and wounded by resort security, police and Resorts World management said. A second “person of interest” who was in the casino at the time was cooperating with the investigation, Reuters reported.
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