Ex-DOF employee is Resorts World gunman – police

From Rappler (Jun 4): Ex-DOF employee is Resorts World gunman – police



(UPDATED) 42-year-old Jessie Carlos, identified as 'heavily in debt' due to casino gambling, is identified as the gunman in the June 2 Resorts World attack

(5th UPDATE) – Police on Sunday, June 4, have identified the suspect in the attack at Resorts World Manila as a former employee of the Department of Finance who is "heavily in debt" due to casino gambling.

The lone gunman was identified as Jessie Carlos, 42 years old, Police Director Oscar Albayalde, NCRPO chief, said in a press conference at the Remington Hotel – part of the Resorts World complex – on Sunday.

Carlos was a former employee of the Department of Finance, assigned to the agency's "One Stop Shop" office, who was discharged from his post for issues related to his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

His identity was confirmed early Sunday morning by his estranged wife and his parents, the NCRPO police chief said. The parents and wife were at the press conference.

'High roller'

Albayalde said that Carlos, a resident of Sta Cruz, Manila, was "heavily in debt" due to casino gambling.

Carlos – identified as a "high roller" and was said to usually placed a minimum P40,000 bet – is said to have P4 million in debt with banks, plus an undisclosed amount of non-bank-related debts, due to his gambling problem.

He has also sold his car and a family property in Batangas to finance his gambling addiction.

Just last April 3, Carlos, who was said to be a regular at other casinos but not at Resorts World, was barred from entering all casinos by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) upon request of next-of-kin, Albayalde said.

In a 2014 press release from the DOF's Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) identified a "Jessie Javier Carlos" as a Tax Specialist of the One Stop Shop Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center.

The RIPS press release said that the employee was dismissed from service by the Ombudsman "for failure to disclose truthfully all his assets" in his SALN.
Not mentally ill

His father Fernando confirmed that Carlos was in financial trouble but said his son was not mentally ill. He also said that they do not know where the gun used came from.

Albayalde again emphasized that the suspect acted alone, and that the incident is not terror-related.

"We also reiterate our prior statements that this is not an act of terrorism but this incident is confined to the act of one man alone as we have always said," he said.

"We have and will continue to base our pronouncements on facts and evidence properly gathered. We will not allow people or any threat group to use this situation to advance their propaganda or personal causes wether foreign or local," Albayalde added.

He added that this closes the terror angle in the probe of the incident.

Carlos' mother Teodora asked for forgiveness from the family of the victims of the attack, saying that their family is also a victim in the incident.

The police also presented to the media the gasoline boy who sold to the suspect the 3 liters of gasoline used in burning parts of the hotel, as well as the taxi driver who drove Carlos to the casino.

The now-identified gunman stormed into the high-end casino complex in Pasay City early Friday, June 4, with an M4 automatic rifle and a bottle of gasoline, before setting alight a number of different rooms in the complex.

Thirty-seven people died in the fires, dozens more were injured in a stampede to escape, and the Carlos was found dead about 5 hours later in a hotel room after committing suicide by setting fire to himself, police said.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/171914-police-identify-gunman-resorts-world-attack