British woman ‘shot dead by dad during US holiday after argument about Trump’

A British woman was shot dead by her own father while staying at his home in the US hours after an argument about Donald Trump, an inquest has heard.

Lucy Harrison, a fashion buyer from Warrington, Cheshire, was shot in the chest at the home of dad Kris Harrison and his family in Prosper, Texas, in January last year.

Her boyfriend Sam Littler told an inquest into her death at Cheshire Coroner’s Court that Lucy was passionately anti-guns and would get upset with her father when he would speak of owning one.

He described there being a ‘big’ argument between them about Donald Trump ahead of their return home on January 10.

Trump was sentenced that day to an ‘unconditional discharge’ following his criminal trial over hush-money payments to an adult film star at the back end of the 2016 election.

The sentence effectively spared him any penalty, and he took office as US president for the second time later that month.

Mr Littler said: ‘Kris and Lucy ended up having quite a big argument which led to Lucy running upstairs and being upset.’

He said Ms Harrison had asked her father: ‘How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I’d been sexually assaulted?’

Mr Harrison had replied that he had two other daughters who lived with him so it would not upset him that much, he added.

He said that later that day, about half an hour before they were to leave to go to the airport, Ms Harrison had been in the kitchen, when her father took her by the hand and led her into his ground floor bedroom.

About 15 seconds later he heard a loud bang and then heard Mr Harrison screaming for his wife, Heather, he said.

Mr Littler said: ‘I remember running into the room and Lucy was lying on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom and Kris was just screaming, just sort of nonsense.’

Mr Harrison did not attend the hearing but, in a statement, said he and his daughter had been watching a news segment on gun crime on television when he told her he had a gun and asked her if she wanted to see it.

When she said yes, they went into the bedroom so he could show her the Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun which he kept in the bedside cabinet, he said.

He said he had bought the gun a couple of years before because he wanted a ‘sense of security’ for his family and denied ever discussing it with his daughter before.

A licence is not required when a gun is owned for home defence in Texas, he said.

Mr Harrison said he did not recall whether his finger was on the trigger when he took the gun out of the case.

He said: ‘As I lifted the gun to show her, I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell.’

The inquest heard a grand jury in the US determined there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with Ms Harrison’s death.

Mr Harrison acknowledged he had issues with alcohol in the past and said he ‘briefly lapsed’ on the day of his daughter’s death because he was emotional about her leaving.

He said he drank 500ml of white wine over the course of two to three hours earlier in the day.

The inquest heard police officer Luciana Escalera, whose evidence was read, noticed the smell of alcohol on Mr Harrison’s breath when he was called to the house after the shooting.

CCTV footage showed Mr Harrison had bought two 500ml cartons of Chardonnay from a 7-Eleven store shortly before 1pm that day.

Ms Harrison’s mother, Jane Coates, said her daughter, who worked for fashion brand Boohoo, was a ‘real force of life’.

She said: ‘She cared. She was passionate about things. She loved to have debates about things that meant a lot to her.’

In a statement issued by his solicitors, Mr Harrison said: ‘I fully accept the consequences of my actions, and there isn’t a day I don’t feel the weight of that loss — a weight I will carry for the rest of my life, and I know that nothing I say can ease the heartbreak this tragedy has caused.

‘I cannot undo what happened, but I can honour Lucy by being the best father I can be to her sisters and by carrying her memory forward in everything we do.

‘I am deeply sorry for the pain others feel from this tragedy. Lucy’s spirit — her warmth, her humour, her kindness — will live on in all of us who loved her.’

The inquest was adjourned until Wednesday, when the coroner is expected to deliver her conclusions.

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