British Father Fatally Shoots Daughter in Texas After Argument About Trump
Dramatic body camera footage has revealed the moment Texas police arrived at the home of a British man who fatally shot his daughter after they got into an argument about former President Donald Trump. The incident occurred on January 10, 2025, in Prosper, a suburb of Dallas, where Lucy Harrison, a 23-year-old fashion buyer from Warrington, Cheshire, was visiting her father, Kris Harrison, and his family.
Coroner Rules Unlawful Killing
An inquest at Cheshire Coroner’s Court concluded last Wednesday with senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish ruling that Lucy had been unlawfully killed. Devonish stated that shooting her through the chest while she was standing would have required Harrison to point the gun at his daughter without checking for bullets and pull the trigger, actions she described as reckless. The coroner found Lucy died due to unlawful killing on the grounds of gross negligence manslaughter.
Footage and Statements Reveal Tragic Details
In the body camera footage released by the coroner’s court, Kris Harrison is seen telling a police officer that he and his daughter were talking about guns as they prepared to take her to the airport. Harrison claimed his daughter asked to see the gun, which he kept in a locked box in his bedside cabinet. He said, "It was in the bedside cabinet. In a locked box. And we took it out to look and just as I picked it up, it went off."
Lucy’s boyfriend, Sam Littler, who was present during the trip, told the inquest that she had argued with her father about Trump, who was soon to be inaugurated, on the day she was killed. Littler recounted hearing a loud bang about 15 seconds after Harrison took Lucy to the bedroom where the gun was stored, followed by Harrison screaming for his wife.
Family and Legal Fallout
Outside the coroner’s court, Lucy’s mother, Jane Coates, said the outcome had finally given her daughter a voice after a year of shock and grief. She asserted that Lucy was failed by Texan gun laws and decisions made by the Prosper police department. Harrison did not attend the two-day hearing but provided a statement admitting he had been drinking wine earlier in the day and bought the weapon for a sense of security, which Texas laws allow without a license.
The coroner described Harrison as a secret drinker and had no doubt he had been drinking throughout the day. She noted that police in Texas failed to test him for alcohol despite smelling it on his breath. Meanwhile, a grand jury in the U.S. found insufficient evidence to charge anyone, including Harrison, in connection with Lucy’s death.
Coroner’s Final Remarks
Devonish concluded that Harrison’s actions killed his own daughter, highlighting the risks posed by his lack of experience, training, and never having fired a gun before. She expressed hope that he now recognizes the danger he created. The coroner added, "She was young, vibrant and beautiful, with her whole life ahead of her, and this was a most tragic death."
