A masked gunman yesterday set fire to a gaming room at a casino in Manila, igniting a toxic blaze that killed 37 people, authorities said, but they insisted it was not a terrorist attack.
The victims suffocated inside one of the main gambling venues of the upscale Resorts World Manila, while dozens of other people were injured in a panicked crush to escape, police said.
The gunman committed suicide inside a hotel room by immolating himself about five hours after storming the casino with an M4 assault rifle and a bottle of gasoline that he used to start the fire, Philippine National Police Director-General Ronald dela Rosa said.
 
                    Photo: AP
Dela Rosa and other police chiefs insisted the assailant was not carrying out a terrorist attack, pointing out that he did not shoot anyone, and said it appeared to be a bizarre robbery attempt by a “deranged” man.
“This is not an act of terror. There is no element of violence, threat or intimidation that leads to terrorism,” Dela Rosa told reporters.
However, 37 people died from smoke inhalation after the fire spread quickly because of flammable carpet on the gaming room floors, local police chief Tomas Apolinario told reporters.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that four Taiwanese were among the dead.
The deaths were confirmed with local police by Taiwan’s representative office in Manila, the ministry said, adding that it is in contact with the victims’ families and is offering them travel assistance.
Representatives in the Philippines have formed a task force to handle other developments, the ministry said, adding that it has confirmed that no other Taiwanese were injured in the incident.
The gunman initially disappeared into the chaos of smoke and running people, leading to a five-hour manhunt through the complex, which also includes a hotel and shops, Dela Rosa said.
He said that the assailant, who appeared to be a foreigner because he spoke English and looked Caucasian, was found just before dawn in a hotel room after committing suicide.
“He lay down on the bed, covered himself with a thick blanket, apparently poured gasoline on the blanket and burned himself,” Dela Rosa said.
Before the gunman had been killed and police had confirmed any motive, there was an unconfirmed claim of responsibility from the Islamic State group.
US President Donald Trump also branded it a “terrorist attack.”
However, Philippine officials were adamant it was not related to terrorism.
“This particular situation in Manila is not related in any way to a terrorist attack,” Philippine presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.
Dela Rosa said the man, acting alone, walked into one of the gaming rooms and fired the rifle at a large TV, then poured gasoline onto a gambling table and set it alight.
He said the man then fired again at a stock room containing gambling chips and filled a backpack with chips worth 113 million pesos (US$2.28 million).
The man left the room and went upstairs to the hotel section, but left the backpack, Dela Rosa said, adding that 18 of 54 injured people had been hospitalized, while others sustained only minor injuries.
People inside the casino recounted a terrifying ordeal when the shooting broke out.
“I was about to return to the second floor from my break when I saw people running. Some hotel guests said someone yelled ‘ISIS,’” Resorts World employee Maricel Navaro told DZMM radio, referring to one of many acronyms used to describe the Islamic State.
“When we smelled smoke, we decided to go for the exit in the parking lot. That’s where we got out. Before we exited, we heard two gunshots and there was thick smoke on the ground floor,” Navaro said.
Additional reporting by staff writer

PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,

REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.

UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention