The rifle in the window guff isn't that interesting really. Jeaps said she saw what 'appeared' to be a rifle leaning against the window. For this to be the case, Sheila would have had to be alive, she would have had to go and get the rifle from the window, avoid being seen by the officers outside and shoot herself without being heard (twice).
What 'appeared' to be a rifle had to have been leaning against the window in the box room as on the side of the house mentioned by Jeaps, the main bedroom window is bricked up. We don't have any CS pictures of the box room, so we have no idea what was in it - this aspect could be cleared up by these photographs. The Raid Team were primed for a siege, they knew there were guns in the house so anything that looked remotely like one, would be noted - I guess anyone would, if their life might depend on it.
That’s right, Caroline
Another thing many people seem to forget is that police are human beings
This was a HUGE incident with a supposed crazy gun woman going berserk, in a house which Jeremy told them contained “lots of guns”, and so the police were on extreme high alert. When you’re scared for your own safety too, which they would have been, the mind plays tricks. Someone blowing a bubblegum and popping it could make them jump out their skin and aim their guns.
Their eyes are searching EVERYWHERE for movements, shapes, and just as people can stare at clouds and make them into the shape of a head or tree, any shadow, item, anything that remotely resembled the shape of a gun could trick their heightened state and make them wonder if it is a gun, when it could just be a broomstick.
But all of this is a tad pointless in a way, as once they entered WHF they found all the guns, so they know exactly how many were there and where they were.