Resorts World Manila attack
| Resorts World Manila attack | |
|---|---|
Resorts World Manila immediately after the attack showing smoke coming from the fire inside the casino | |
Location of the main attack in Pasay, along with the shooting in Paco, Manila linked to the same perpetrator hours earlier. | |
| Location |
|
| Date | June 1, 2017 – June 2, 2017 c. 10:00 pm (at Paco) 12:03 am – 1:46 am (at Pasay) (PhST GMT+8) |
| Target | Resorts World Manila |
Attack type | Armed robbery, shootout and arson |
| Weapons | Paco:
Pasay: |
| Deaths | 40 (38 at Pasay, 2 at Paco) |
| Injured | 70 |
| Perpetrator | Jessie Javier Carlos |
| Motive | Problem gambling and debt |
On June 2, 2017, at approximately 12:03 a.m. PhST (GMT+8), a lone gunman attacked the Resorts World Manila and set fire to the casino tables and slot machine chairs, causing a stampede which led to the deaths of 38 people and injuring 70 others. Initially thought to be a terrorist attack related to the Marawi crisis in Mindanao, the attack was an armed robbery perpetrated by 42-year old Jessie Javier Carlos, a Filipino former civil servant. Carlos stole casino chips amounting to ₱113 million (US$2.24 million in 2017). Following a brief confrontation with the responding SWAT team around 1:30 a.m., Carlos broke inside a room in the fifth floor of the adjacent Maxims Hotel and committed suicide fifteen minutes later.
Police investigation revealed that Carlos is a problem gambler who had accumulated a debt of around ₱4 million (US$79,000) by the time of the attack. Further investigation linked him to a shooting near Paco Park two hours before the attack, killing two people. The Philippine Senate launched an inquiry to the attack, which revealed security lapses in the hours leading up to the attack. PAGCOR temporarily suspended the license of the hotel. Resorts World Manila would later rebrand itself as the Newport World Resorts in 2022.