by Prosper, Texas — A 23-year-old woman who was fatally shot inside her father’s Texas home died as a result of “unlawful” actions, a coroner has concluded, after body camera footage revealed the father told police the gun “just went off.”
Lucy Harrison was shot in the chest on Jan. 10, 2025, while visiting her father, Kris Harrison, in Prosper, a suburb north of Dallas. She had traveled to Texas with her boyfriend, Sam Littler, and was reportedly preparing to leave for the airport when the shooting occurred.
Bodycam footage details father’s account
Police body-worn camera footage shown during an inquest captured Kris Harrison describing the moments before the gun discharged.
“She said, ‘you got a gun?’ I said, yes, I got it out and it just went off,” he told responding officers. “It went off.”
He told officers the firearm had been stored in a locked box inside a bedside cabinet. According to his account, he removed it to show his daughter and it discharged as he lifted it.
“I put it on the bed straight away,” he said. “Just as I picked it up, it went off.”
Coroner rules death unlawful
During proceedings in Cheshire Coroner’s Court in Warrington, England, Coroner Jacqueline Devonish determined that Lucy’s death was unlawful.
Devonish concluded that even if the discharge was accidental, the firearm would have had to be pointed directly at Lucy in order for her to be shot in the chest.
“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,” the coroner stated.
While acknowledging a lack of intent, Devonish described the actions as “truly exceptionally bad and reprehensible” and amounting to gross negligence.
No indictment filed in Texas
Despite the coroner’s findings, a Texas grand jury declined to indict Kris Harrison in connection with the shooting.
The case was examined in the U.K. because Lucy Harrison was a British citizen.
Argument preceded shooting
Testimony during the inquest revealed that Lucy and her father had argued earlier that day. According to her boyfriend, the disagreement involved political issues.
Littler testified that shortly before they were set to leave for the airport, Kris Harrison brought Lucy into a bedroom. Moments later, he heard a loud bang.
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“I remember running into the room and Lucy was lying on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom,” Littler told the court.
He described Kris Harrison as screaming incoherently following the gunshot.
In a statement read to the court, Kris Harrison said he brought Lucy into the bedroom to show her the firearm after they had watched a news segment about gun crime.
“As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell,” he said.
Family reacts to ruling
Lucy’s mother, Jane Coates, said the inquest outcome provided a measure of clarity after a year of grief.
“Today’s outcome has finally given Lucy her voice back,” she said in a statement.
The ruling closes the U.K. inquest, though no criminal charges are pending in Texas.
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