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A POLICE marksman who shot barrister Mark Saunders during a five-hour siege told an inquest yesterday that he had "kicked himself" for not firing earlier.
The specialist officer said he had replayed the events in his mind and wished he had fired the first time he had believed the divorce lawyer was a threat.
Identified only as Alpha Zulu 8, he was one of seven officers who shot Saunders, killing the 32-year-old instantly in the violent end to the stand-off in Chelsea on May 6, 2008.
Mark Saunders had been holed up in his Pounds 2.2million home in Markham Square for several hours, having shot at neighbouring properties with his own legally held shotgun earlier in the day.
During the siege, the lawyer, an alcoholic who was on medication to control his moods, was drinking heavily, speaking of a desire to kill himself and calling for his wife, Elizabeth.
At the inquest into his death, Alpha Zulu 8 described the moment Saunders leant out of his kitchen window and pointed the shotgun at him.
The officer, crouching in a conservatory 14 yards away, was on the point of firing his own weapon when the lawyer raised the shotgun out of harm's way.
"I had taken my breath, I had checked the sight picture and was just about to squeeze one off," Alpha Zulu 8 said. "I was waiting for it, then he brought it back up. I took a lung full of air again and eased off on the trigger."
When Saunders lowered his 12-bore for a second time moments later - at 9.32pm - Alpha Zulu 8 told Westminster coroner's court that he did not hesitate.
"I thought enough is enough. As it came down again it just crossed my line and I let off the first round."
Video from a police helicopter hovering over the house showed the moment Saunders was killed. In the grainy...