A GUN-TOTING barrister wrote a tender message to his wife while besieged in his home by police marksmen, it was claimed yesterday.
Mark Saunders, 32, was found dead after exchanging fire with police during a five-hour stand-off at his £2.2 million flat in Chelsea. Last night, inquiries continued into why the successful lawyer turned into a crazed gunman.
Jane Winkworth, a neighbour, said Mr Saunders threw from a window a white cardboard box bearing the message: "I love my wife dearly xxx." Witnesses described how a woman, believed to be Mr Saunders's wife, Elizabeth, fled in tears from the Markham Square flat in the fashionable London district shortly before shots rang out.
Mrs Winkworth ran for her life after Mr Saunders shot at her as she stood in the back garden of the three-storey Georgian terrace. The businesswoman was then trapped in her basement flat with armed police as they attempted to negotiate the gunman's surrender. She said he appeared calm and composed, only shouting: "I can't hear you" at officers as they gave him instructions.
Colleagues at QEB Chambers, where Mr Saunders was a divorce barrister, described the incident as a "personal tragedy".
His wife, who uses the professional name Elizabeth Clarke, works as a family law barrister there.
Mark Saunders
Mr Saunders was a member of the Territorial Army's Honourable Artillery Company for three years until 2002. Investigators confirmed that a legally registered shotgun kept at his home had been recovered by police.
His father, Rodney Saunders, 64, said the shoot-out was an "absolute mystery", and he described his son and his wife as an "ideal couple". He said: "We are not aware of anything which might have made him react like this. You could understand it if he was a terrorist, but Mark was not a terrorist."
Mr Saunders was found dead by Scotland Yard's élite CO19 specialist firearms unit at his flat after the dramatic stand-off.
Mrs Winkworth, a director of ballet shoe company French Sole, said he blasted a shotgun at her as she stood in her garden at about 5pm on Tuesday. She ran in and rang 999 as Mr Saunders apparently took random shots at nearby buildings.
Leslie Hummel, whose Bywater Street home backs on to the scene, described how she looked on in horror as the gunman blew out one of his own windows. He then aimed a shotgun round at one of the first police officers to arrive as they stood inside her home. Mrs Hummel said the officer grabbed his sidearm and returned fire as Mr Saunders ducked inside.
She said her daughter's bedroom window was peppered with shotgun pellets.
Shopworkers and customers in the nearby Kings Road were forced to lock themselves in as armed police filled the streets. Marksmen forced their way into properties as they took up vantage points on balconies and windows. More shots were exchanged between the gunman and police at about 9:10pm, before a final confrontation at 9:30pm.
Witnesses reported green flashes, suggesting police may have used stun grenades before entering the flat. Emergency medical staff were then ushered into the cordoned-off area, where the now semi-naked gunman was fatally wounded. Metropolitan Police Commander Ali Dizaei said the gunman made no demands during the stand-off.
The Independent Police Complaints Committee has launched an investigation. A post-mortem examination took place yesterday.
Mr Saunders was educated at Kings School, Macclesfield, and studied law at Christ Church College, Oxford. A spokeswoman at QEB Chambers said: "He was a very valued member of the chambers and we are shocked and horrified. Our thoughts are with his family."
The full article contains 623 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
