METRO Manila police consider the June 2 attack on the Resorts World Manila casino by a lone gunman, Jessie Carlos, a solved case, but they have yet to determine if he was also involved in the killing of a lawyer and a former police officer in Paco, Manila, hours before he went on a rampage.
Thirty-seven people had died of suffocation in the Resorts World attack from the fire Carlos had set.
Lawyer Elmer Mitra Jr., 38, and former Manila policeman Alvin Cruzin, 43, were found dead with bullet wounds inside a gray BMW turned turtle on Perez and Belen Streets in Paco, hours before the casino attack.
Witnesses said they heard gunshots before the car turned turtle at 9:50 p.m.
Closed-circuit TV footage showed a man—purportedly Carlos—get out of the car and walk away.
GMA-7 reported that the two victims, one of them a casino financier, were the last known companions of Carlos before he went to Resorts World.
Southern Police District director Tomas Apolinario said they were looking into a possible connection between the two incidents.
Metro Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde had said the Resorts World case was solved after his men identified Carlos as the gunman.
He said Carlos, 42, separated and a former employee of the Department of Finance, was a resident of 1663 Felix Huentes St. corner San Lazaro, Brgy. 339 zone 34, Sta Cruz, Manila.
Carlos was dismissed from the Finance department for not declaring all his assets.
Albayalde added that Carlos was heavily in debt due to his gambling addiction.
Albayalde said there was a security lapse at Resorts World because Carlos was able to enter its premises with a long firearm. He added that hotel officials and their security managers could be held criminally liable for the lapses.
Footage from hotel security cameras showed that the gunman, wearing black and bonnet, entered the gaming area, fired at televisions and torched tables and slot machines, and stole gambling chips worth P113 million, before committing suicide on the fifth floor of the hotel.
A female security employee tried to prevent the gunman but then ran away.
The security personnel of the hotel were employees of the NC Lanting Security Specialist Agency.
Resorts World Manila has engaged the services of Blackpanda, international security experts, to review and tighten its security and safety protocols.
“We are determined to regain people’s trust after the tragic incident last week,” said Stephen Reilly, chief operating officer at the company.
“The recent breach in our security and the resulting loss of lives is truly regrettable and we cannot let it happen again,” Reilly continued.
“We will rebuild and make Resorts World better and stronger. A big part of this is to bring in world experts. We are going all out to reassure everybody—our nearly 6,000 employees and their families, and the millions who come to visit—that their safety is our priority,” he said.
