Police: Gunman foreign-looking but spoke straight Filipino

A CCTV image of the Resort World Manila gunman.
Inquirer photo

Police on Saturday assured that it would determine the nationality and identify as soon as possible the lone gunman who terrorized the upscale Resorts World Manila casino in Pasay.

In a news conference organized by Resorts World, Director Oscar Albayalde, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, revealed that the suspect, although foreign-looking, spoke in straight Filipino, according to the taxi driver who drove the man to the hotel from San Lazaro in Manila.

“As of this moment, we have not ascertained the identity of the gunman,” Albayalde said. “However, we’re doing our best. The taxi driver is with us today to give us his account so we be able to backtrack and identify the gunman.”

Albayalde said the taxi driver, whose identity was withheld for security purposes, told the police that he did not notice anything wrong the suspect’s behavior as he casually conversed with the suspect while traveling to Resorts World.

The suspect even asked the driver to change the radio station so he could listen to the news, the NCRPO chief said.

“Normal lang na kwentuhan. Tungkol sa music. Pinalipat yung music sa radyo. Gusto niya raw makinig ng news. Wala ring napansin ang driver na firearm,” he said.

Asked how long it would take for the authorities to identify the gunman, Albayalde said: “ASAP… There are many ways. We’ll do everything to identify him. We will not stop here.”

He also maintained that the gunman had no accomplices despite persistent reports that some witnesses saw heavily-armed men in black masks in the casino.

From the time the taxi driver picked up the assailant in San Lazaro, Albayalde said the suspect was alone.

The Resorts World Manila’s security officers, meanwhile, released in the same media briefing security camera footage in areas where the attacker was seen.