Lithgow siege: Man who turned gun on himself after standoff with police was a conspiracy theorist
The girlfriend of a conspiracy theorist embroiled in a standoff with police has been filmed handing herself over to heavily armed officers after throwing a shotgun.
Daniel James Whelan, 29, was found dead at about 8:50 a.m. Monday at his home on Cooerwull Rd in Bowenfels, west of the Blue Mountains.
He was locked in his property with his girlfriend Ursula Saunders, 20, for 21 hours after police were called to his home with reports that a man and woman were fighting.
Officers spoke to the couple from a distance before locking themselves inside the property and refusing to come out.
Whelan, who owned several firearms, began shooting at police around 4:20 p.m. before officers returned fire.
Dramatic footage has emerged of the moment the siege ended abruptly, with a distressed Mrs. Saunders exiting the premises with a .22 rifle in the air.
A dramatic vision has emerged of Ursula Saunders (pictured), 20, exiting a Bowenfels property with a .22 rifle in the air before turning herself over to police after her partner was involved in a standoff with officers
She throws the firearm on the ground and walks, calling out to the tactical response team.
The young woman is pulled away by officers as she tries to talk to them.
Tactical officers armed with assault rifles then storm the premises and find Whelan’s body inside.
Whelan has been associated with the Sovereign Citizen conspiracy movement. Sovereign citizens have extreme anti-government views and believe that most laws do not apply to them.
According to police sources, Whelan also had anti-police stances, he said The Daily Telegraph.
In the video, a Eureka stockade flag hung in his property, which is considered a symbol of defiance against the government.
The flag was regularly flown during anti-lockdown protests across Australia at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Daniel James Whelan (pictured), 29, a conspiracy theorist with anti-government and anti-police views, was found dead at his property after a 21-hour siege with police
Whelan was armed with multiple firearms and shot at heavily armed police officers who returned fire (pictured, police officers during the standoff)
Acting Assistant Commissioner Scott Tanner said Whelan was “wanted by police on a number of serious cases dating back to 2021,” including “matters related to domestic violence and firearms.”
Whelan had previously been charged with possession of an unauthorized firearm armed with intent to commit a criminal offence, kidnapping and stalking/harassment.
Ms Saunders recorded a video during the tense police standoff on Sunday night.
“It’s 6.44pm on Cooerwull Road, I’m behind a pile of rice with the dogs because I’m hiding from the police…” she said in the clip.
“I’m not afraid of my partner, I love him dearly.”
Ms Saunders accused police of ‘shooting through my house without identifying a target’ and showed a hole in the wall – presumably from a bullet.
She held back tears as she spoke to the camera in a trembling voice.
Whelan’s ailing partner Ursula Saunders (pictured), 20, videotaped the property during the tense confrontation with police
Police only learned that Whelan owned a firearm after they arrived at the property.
NSW Police said shots were later fired from the house.
“At around 4:20 p.m., a number of shots were fired from the house in the direction of the police, to which the police answered,” said a spokesperson.
“No one was hurt during the exchange.”
Police repeatedly tried to encourage the couple to come out, but they refused.
Ms Saunders subsequently came out of the house on Monday, with Commissioner Tanner telling reporters that ‘she came out of her own accord’.
“(Mrs. Saunders) is now in hospital, being examined, and the police will no doubt speak to her later today (to find out) what the conditions were with her in the house,” he said.
She now assists in police investigations and has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Ms Saunders claimed police fired at the house ‘without identifying a target’ and posted a photo of a hole in a wall (pictured)
Commissioner Tanner gave an insight into the enormous difficulties officers faced.
“Police is a very dangerous career and profession at times and what we saw yesterday was an example of that,” he said.
“The police don’t come to work expecting this kind of thing, and that (civil servants) welfare is taken care of.”
The commissioner said the crime scene police unit was on the scene and conducting “a thorough investigation”.
‘We found a firearm and a number of other weapons of the corresponding type at the entrance of the house. But that (crime scene) investigation will take some time.’
A report is being prepared for the coroner.