A man carrying a rifle burst into the Resorts World building near Manila's worldwide airport and shot at TV screens, set tables on fire with petrol and stuffed a bag with gambling chips.
Thirty-eight bodies of victims who supposedly died of suffocation and smoke inhalation were recovered from the gaming room of Resorts World Manila, according to police authorities. While an Islamic State-linked Filipino said on social media that "lone wolf soldiers" of the Islamic State group were behind the attack, police noted the man didn't shoot anyone he encountered.
Police confirmed there were reports of gunfire at Resorts World, which is across a road from one of the main terminals of the Philippines' global airport. "They have this reputation of claiming all atrocities all over the world to perpetuate themselves to gain global notoriety".
Though the police were suspecting the incident to be a failed robbery attempt but with that Islamic State claiming responsibility, it is being feared to be a terror attack.
The sequencing of ISIS' claims is not unusual.
An ISIS-affiliated operative had claimed responsibility soon after the attack, however the police found no links to terror and said the motive could have just been robbery.
Authorities were not able to confirm the origin of the attack, but the Philippine military has been recently fighting groups associated with the Islamic State elsewhere in the island nation.
Eyewitnesses described a "tall, foreign white man" who headed straight for the chip room at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City, a southwestern suburb of the the capital.
After a hot pursuit by company security and police authorities, the gunman was found dead around 7 a.m. Police later searched a auto and found registration information which they didn't make public.
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Police said one gunman fired at an LED screen at the resort and lit a table on fire but did not shoot anyone. "Occasionally, there are instability within geopolitics in the Philippines and the ASEAN region, so we take it (security) very seriously", he said.
A video showed guests frantically running for the exits, the sound of gunshots and smoke coming from the upper floors of buildings.
They say the gunman fled with $2 million in stolen casino chips, then forced his way into a room in an adjoining hotel and killed himself. He said the man made off with chips worth about 130 million pesos, or roughly $2.6 million.
Their bodies were found on the second floor of the building, spread across the casino area, the hallways and a bathroom, police said.
Stephen Reilly, the resort's Chief Operating Officer, said the attacker was shot and wounded by security guards, and retreated into the hotel room where he doused a bed he was lying on in gasoline and shot himself.
The Philippines' National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa spoke to reporters after Trump's remarks and said there was no evidence of terrorism.
The victims have been identified except for four guests and two employees.
Resorts World security are said to have initially failed to engage the gunman, who carried an M4 assault rifle and a bottle of fuel.
According to Resorts World Manila's official Twitter account, there were at least 35 casualties in the incident, including 13 employees and 22 guests.
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