MANILA - A gunman burst into a casino in the Philippines on Friday, firing shots and setting gaming tables on fire, and at least 36 people were killed, most of them suffocating in thick smoke, in what officials believe was a botched robbery.

There was no evidence linking the attack at the Resorts World Manila entertainment complex to fighting between government troops and Islamist militants in the country's south, said Ernesto Abella, a spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte.

"All indications point to a criminal act by an apparently emotionally disturbed individual," Abella told a news conference. "Although the perpetrator fired warning shots, there apparently was no indication that he wanted to do harm or shoot anyone."