At least 34 bodies have been found in a casino and hotel complex in Manila after a shooting incident by a lone gunman.
Most of the dead appear to have suffocated from thick smoke after the man set fire to casino tables, sources told local media.
The gunman began shooting at TV monitors in Resorts World Manila in the early hours of Friday morning.
Police said he later killed himself by setting himself on fire.
The incident sparked a security lockdown and authorities initially said there were no casualties, but appear to have only found the bodies while sweeping the complex in the last few hours.
Police said the incident appeared to have been a robbery attempt, and was not terror-related.
More than 50 people have been sent to a hospital to be treated for injuries.
Authorities said the man, who has yet to be named, entered the casino shortly after midnight and began shooting at television screens with an assault rifle, sending terrified patrons fleeing.
He also set gaming tables on fire and filled a backpack with gambling chips worth 113m Philippine pesos (£1.7m, $2.3m).
The man later fled to the hotel section of the complex, leaving behind the backpack, and entered a hotel room.
"He lay down on the bed, covered himself with a thick blanket, apparently poured petrol on the blanket and burned himself," national police chief Ronald Dela Rosa said on Friday.
The shooting sparked a security lockdown and a manhunt in the complex, which ended around dawn on Friday when his body was found.
Resorts World Manila said in an earlier statement that the man also shot himself after setting himself on fire.
< Prev | Next > |
---|