Manila casino attacker was jobless man in huge debt: Police

The Philippine police on Sunday identified the lone gunman who attacked a casino in Manila last week.

The man was identified as Jessie Javier Carlos, 42, a Filipino citizen and a former employee of the Department of Finance, Xinhua news agency reported.

Carlos, armed with an automatic rifle, stormed the Resorts World Manila casino and hotel in the early hours of June 1. He fired shots and set alight gambling tables.

Carlos later committed suicide.

Thirty-six people also lost their lives due to suffocation in the smoke from the fire.

"He was heavily indebted due to being hooked to casino gambling, according to his immediate family," a police officer said.

"He has a bank account with an outstanding debt of 4 million pesos ($80,000) and several other non-bank related debt," the officer said.

Carlos used to work as a tax specialist of the Department of Finance and was dismissed from service in 2014 for failing to disclose all of his assets.

Carlos' civil service eligibility was also cancelled, his retirement benefits forfeited and he was perpetually disqualified from reemployment in the government.

The suspect has three children, but was separated from his wife.

The police have ruled out that the attack was terror related.

"On this note, we also reiterate our prior statements that this is not an act of terrorism," the police officer said, adding that it was a case of a botched robbery.

--IANS

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