These stars were at Resorts World Manila during the attack

MANILA, Philippines – Many were affected by the attack of a lone gunman on Resorts World Manila on Friday, June 2, among them, famous personlities who were there when tragedy struck.

Past midnight on June 2, a man fired gunshots and set fire to gaming tables at the second floor of the popular hotel and casino before taking his own life.

The attack left 37 dead, including the gunman. Except for the latter, the rest died due to suffocation, police said. At least 54 were injured.

The terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, though details of the incident remain vague. Malacañang dismissed the claim and maintained the official government position that it was a robbery attempt. (READ: Officials contradict each other on Resorts World Manila attack)

Here are the stars who were at Resorts World Manila that night.

Azenith Briones and Eleuterio Reyes

Azenith Briones, Mutya ng Pilipinas 1975 and one of the stars of Joey Gosengfiao’s Temptation Island (1980), was with her husband, Eletorio Reyes, when the attack occurred.

According to a report on ABS-CBN, Azenith herself sustained injuries after jumping from the second floor in an attempt to escape. Her husband was not as fortunate, and was among those killed, according to the list of casualties  released by Resorts World Manila.

Mitoy Yonting

The Voice of the Philippines season 1 winner Mitoy Yonting was performing with his band at the first floor of Resorts World Manila when he saw people running from the second floor and heard gunshots, according to a Manila Times report.

Mitoy and his band were able to escape and sought shelter at nearby Villamor Airbase, where they gave their names and IDs. He got home past 2 am.

“We will still perform but the fear will be there,” he said. “This has been my job for a long time, but it never happened to us. We just need to double our alertness. As I’ve said, if you die, you’ll die. But it is better to have a plan so we can prevent bad things from happening.”

Martin del Rosario

Sunkissed #TravelCaMpanion #TeamCanonPh

A post shared by Martin Del Rosario (@martinmiguelmdelrosario) on Nov 21, 2016 at 4:48pm PST

Martin del Rosario, who plays Aramis in the TV series Mulawin vs Ravena, was at Resorts World Manila’s cinema that night, according to Pep. He had gone down to the 3rd floor for a bathroom break when he heard gunshots from the floor below.

“Sabi ng gwardiya – siguro para hindi mag-panic ‘yung mga tao dahil ang daming nagtatanong sa kanya – sabi niya lasing daw, binaril daw ‘yung signage sa baba, lasing,” recounted Martin.

(The guard said – I guess so that people wouldn’t panic, as so many people were asking him what was happening – he said there was a drunk who fired gunshots at the signage downstairs; a drunk.)

The report did not say how Martin was able to safely leave the area.

Stars’ reactions

They weren’t at the scene of the incident, but many stars also took to social media to call for prayers for those affected. (READ: Stars react to the Resorts World Manila attack)

Hollywood star Josh Duhamel tweeted “prayers for his Pinoy friends,” after hearing about the news from apl.de.ap. 

Kris Aquino, who is vacationing in Japan with her sons, tweeted a video of the Black Eyed Peas song “Where is the Love?” late on June 2. (LOOK: Kris Aquino posts ‘Where is the Love?’ amid PH attacks)

Lea Salonga, Coleen Garcia, Christian Bautista, and many more also offered words of support and asked their fans to pray and stay safe. – Rappler.com