A British woman who was shot dead by her father at his home in Texas was unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled. Lucy Harrison, 23, from Warrington, died from a gunshot wound to the chest on 10 January last year while staying with her father, Kris Harrison, in Prosper, Texas.
Senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish concluded that Kris Harrison, an alcoholic who had been drinking earlier that day, pointed a semi-automatic handgun at his daughter and pulled the trigger. She ruled the killing amounted to gross negligence manslaughter.
The inquest heard that Lucy had become upset after a heated argument with her father about Donald Trump, who was due to be inaugurated as US president later that month. Her boyfriend, Sam Littler, told the hearing that Lucy asked her father: "How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I'd been sexually assaulted?" He described the atmosphere as volatile, with "very opinionated people in the house".
Mr Harrison, who moved to the US when Lucy was a child, claimed the gun went off accidentally as he lifted it to show her. He was never charged by Texas police. However, the coroner found that he had been a "secret drinker" and was teasing his daughter with the weapon when it discharged. She accepted that he did not know the gun was loaded when he pointed it at her and pulled the trigger.
In a statement, Mr Harrison said Lucy had asked to see the Glock 9mm pistol, which he kept for "home defence" and for which he did not need a licence in Texas. The coroner noted he had no experience of guns, had undertaken no training and had never fired a weapon. The hearing was also told Lucy was "categorically anti-gun" and had felt anxious about the firearm being in the house with her younger half-sisters.
