A “RECKLESS” dad pointed a gun at his Brit daughter’s chest without checking it was loaded before shooting her dead, a coroner has ruled.

Lucy Harrison, 23, was visiting Kris Harrison at his home in Prosper, Texas, when the horror unfolded.

A young woman, Lucy Harrison, smiling at the camera.
Lucy Harrison died while visiting her dad in TexasCredit: Facebook
 

Lucy Harrison and her father Kris smiling together at a restaurant.
Dad Kris failed to check if the gun was loaded, a coroner foundCredit: Facebook
The dad, who was a functioning alcoholic, claimed the gun had gone off accidentally.

But senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish today found Lucy died due to unlawful killing on the grounds of gross negligence manslaughter.

She added: “To shoot her through the chest whilst she was standing would have required him to have been pointing the gun at his daughter, without checking for bullets, and pulling the trigger.

“I find these actions to be reckless.”

Speaking outside the coroner’s court in Warrington, Lucy’s mum Jane Coates said: “Today’s outcome has finally given Luce her voice back, after what has been an unrelenting year of deep shock, grief and fight.”

She said her daughter was “failed” by Texan gun laws and decisions made by the police department in Prosper.

Jane added: “Although we are satisfied with the coroner’s conclusion, there is much to be learnt from Lucy’s needless and entirely avoidable death.”

The shooting on January 10, 2025 was witnessed by Sam Littler, Lucy’s boyfriend, who had travelled with her to the US for the holiday.

Giving evidence at Cheshire Coroner Court, he recalled his girlfriend often becoming upset with her dad when he spoke about owning a gun.

A “big” argument then kicked off between the victim and her dad about Trump who was to be inaugurated as president, the inquest heard.

Just 30 minutes before the couple left for the airport, Kris grabbed her by the hand and led her from the kitchen to his ground floor bedroom, where he kept a Glock semi-automatic handgun in his bedside cabinet.

Sam said a loud bang then echoed through the house and Kris screamed for his wife Heather.

He told the court: “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.”

Kris did not attend the hearing but said in a statement he and Lucy had been watching a news segment on gun crime on TV when he asked her if she wanted to see his Glock.

He added: “As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell.”

Kris told police who attended the scene: “We got it out to have a look and just as I picked it up it just went off.”

The coroner found the dad did not immediately tell Sam, who called 911, that he had shot Lucy.

She said: “He knew full well he had shot his own daughter, pointing a gun at chest height and pulling the trigger.

“He did not ensure that this information was passed to 911. With a bullet through her heart her prognosis was poor in any event.”

Ms Devonish also ruled Kris was a “secret drinker” and she was “left in no doubt whatsoever” that he had been drinking continuously on the day of his daughter’s death.

She said he was a “teaser” and, on the balance of probabilities, that was what he was doing when he removed the gun from its box.

The coroner accepted he did not know the gun was loaded but did not accept Lucy would have asked to see the gun, given she disliked the weapons and considered them a danger to the family.

She added: “His actions have killed his own daughter and in the cold light of day it is hoped that he now recognises the risk he posed to her life in circumstances in which he had no experience of guns, had undertaken no training and had never fired a gun.”

The inquest heard police in Texas failed to test Kris for alcohol despite suspecting he had been drinking after smelling alcohol on his breath.

At the time, authorities in the US confirmed Lucy died after being shot in the chest by “another person”.

Officials revealed a suspect had been identified and that the case was being probed as “criminally negligent homicide”.

But Collin County District Attorney’s Office later confirmed that a Grand Jury has issued a ‘no-bill’ in the case – meaning criminal charges will not be brought.

The Grand Jury found the evidence did not meet the threshold for criminal proceedings.

Concluding the inquest, the coroner said: “She was young, vibrant and beautiful with her whole life ahead of her and this is a most tragic death.”

A young woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and light makeup.
Lucy was due to fly home when she was shotCredit: Facebook
 

A young woman with long blonde hair, smiling and wearing a black one-shoulder top and a ruched black skirt.
A homicide probe was launched into her death but no charges will be broughtCredit: Facebook
 

A young woman with long blonde hair and sunglasses on her head smiles at the camera while sitting on a wall overlooking a beach and town.
A coroner ruled she was unlawfully killedCredit: Facebook