Philippine police say casino attacker was indebted gambler

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines

The lone suspect behind a deadly attack on a casino and shopping complex in Manila was a heavily indebted Filipino gambling addict, police said Sunday, bolstering their claim that the assault was not terrorism-related.

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 $80,000.

The revelations confirm that “this is not an act of terrorism,” Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde told a news conference. “This incident is confined to the act of one man alone as we have always said.”

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on Resorts World Manila, where 37 patrons and employees died, mostly from smoke inhalation as they tried to hide in one of the casino’s VIP rooms on the second floor. But authorities have rejected the militants’ claim, saying there is no evidence to back it and pointing out that the assailant shot no civilians during the two-hour ordeal despite being heavily armed.

The Philippines has faced a Muslim insurgency in the country’s south for decades, and Manila has been on edge since government forces began battling Islamic militants who besieged the southern city of Marawi.

On Sunday, Carlos’ father told reporters that his son had no connections to terrorism. Carlos’ distraught mother, Teodora, wept 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 rather than ... 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.

Carlos’ wife was also brought before reporters. She was so distressed, she entered in a wheelchair and kept her head, hidden by a cream-colored towel, down on a desk as she sat beside the police.