36 die from smoke after gunman sets fire in casino

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines

A gunman stormed a casino in the Philippine capital and torched gambling tables in the crowded space, creating a choking level of smoke that killed at least 36 people, authorities said. The gunman stuffed a backpack with casino chips before he fled but was found dead in an adjacent hotel early Friday of an apparent suicide.

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.

The attack sent hundreds of people fleeing into the night outside the Resorts World Manila complex and produced a claim of terrorism that police stressed had no evidence to support it. The violence unfolded as government forces were engaged in a second week of fighting against Muslim militants aligned with the Islamic State group in the southern city of Marawi.