This was how groom-to-be Roscoe Fernandez described his and his siblings’ experience during the attack at the Resorts World Manila in Pasay City.
Fernandez was staying at a hotel in the area since he was supposed to get married Friday.
He said he and his siblings came from the casino at the 2nd floor and were on their way back to their room when they met running men.
“There was a commotion na but little did we know meron nang ano, a guy who was wearing a bonnet, a Kevlar vest. I couldn’t determine what kind of rifle the guy was using,” he said.
“I saw him exactly. We were a few meters away from the gunman,” he added.
Fernandez said he did not see anyone accompanying the gunman. The suspect was also only firing upwards and was not shooting anyone, but still caused panic.
“Wala ako nakita na kasama pero he was ano discriminately firing upwards eh but he wasn't shooting anyone so nataranta kami so we went to the fire exits,” Fernandez said.
Police already ruled out terrorism as a motive for the attack while Resorts World Manila has dispelled rumors that there was more than one gunman.
Fernandez said he did not see any security guard going after the gunman and was not aware where the guards were.
Out of fear, Fernandez ran to the fire exit and went straight to the basement where he hid for more than an hour.
Resorts World Manila on Friday said there were 35 fatalities from the attack. Of this figure, 13 were employees of the casino while 22 others were guests. Authorities later raised the toll to 38 dead.
Stephen Reilly, chief operating officer of the casino, also confirmed that a member of the casino’s security team shot and wounded the gunman.
The suspect, who also torched casino tables, hid in a hotel room where he committed suicide.-- report from Doris Bigornia, ABS-CBN News
source: news.abs-cbn.com
