By the end of a chaotic day on Thursday, Philippine police were confident the assault on Resorts World Manila was a bizarre robbery attempt, rather than a terrorist attack. The perpetrator was said to be a lone masked gunman, not a team of terrorists, and he fired all of his shots into inanimate objects.
Horrifying news later emerged that at least 36 people in the casino died of smoke inhalation from fires set by the assailant. An additional victim was reportedly a South Korean national who died of a heart attack during the rush to escape from the building. Witnesses said some of the people who jumped from second- and third-story windows to escape may have been severely or fatally injured.
The Associated Press quotes police chief Ronald dela Rosa insisting robbery was the motive for the attack, as he pointed to over $2 million in gambling chips stolen by the suspect and later recovered. The suspect reportedly fled to an adjacent hotel at the Resorts World complex and killed himself.
Dela Rosa argued that the assailant “would have shot all the people gambling” if terrorism was his goal rather than firing shots in the air to provoke a stampede for the exits.
However, the Islamic State insists that the assault was a terror attack conducted by one of its fighters.
“Brother Abu al-Kheir al-Arkhabili was able to immerse among a gathering of Christian fighters in the Resorts World Manila in Manila where he carried out killing and hurting until he died as a martyr. About 100 Christians were killed or wounded,” said a statement from the terrorist group.
Of course, as both Philippine authorities and distant analysts pointed out, ISIS makes all sorts of claims that have little grounding in reality.
“They can always claim whatever they want to claim,” said national police chief Oscar Albayalde. “They have this reputation of claiming all atrocities all over the world to perpetuate themselves to gain global notoriety. There is no truth that the incident is a terror act.”
Brigadier General Restituto Padilla of the Philippine military made the same observation: “As in previous incidents, this group is prone to claim and admit every criminal incident and label it as its own, clearly indicative of its pure penchant for propaganda.”
“Either he lost in the casino and wanted to recoup his losses, or he went totally nuts,” speculated Albayalde.
The police either have not identified the killer or have not released his name yet, which makes it difficult to judge whether ISIS had the right name in its announcement. However, CNN reports that the police not only have the assailant’s remains in custody, but they also located the car he drove in the casino parking lot. The car was evidently stolen as its owner denies knowing the attacker.
The authorities noted that the gunman had ample opportunity to inflict mass casualties by gunfire during his attack, but it appears he only fired shots in the air to start a panic at first, and later exchanged fire with hotel security personnel. There is no evidence that he shot any civilians, although the panicked eyewitnesses fleeing the hotel on Thursday and warning of a terrorist death squad could hardly be expected to have known that.
According to CNN’s account of the attack, the gunman was wounded during his fight with security guards, took shelter in a hotel room, soaked the bed with gasoline, set himself ablaze, and then shot himself. The Associated Press cites casino officials who said he was hit in the leg and suffering from severe blood loss when he made the decision to kill himself.
He was “found in the room, burned beyond recognition, next to an automatic weapon and a .380 caliber pistol,” writes CNN.