A Texas man will not face charges after gunning down his daughter after they got in a heated argument about President Trump.
Lucy Harrison, who was visiting from the UK, died of her wounds after the 23-year-old was shot in the chest Jan. 10 at her father’s home in Prosper, located around 35 miles north of Dallas.
Her dad, Kris Harrison, who moved to the US when his daughter was a child, admitted during an inquest that he was an alcoholic who had relapsed and drank three glasses of wine on the day of the shooting, BBC reported.
Lucy’s death was initially being investigated by local cops as a possible manslaughter case but no criminal charges were ultimately brought against the father after a Collin County grand jury decided against indicting him.
She was traveling to the US with her boyfriend, Sam Littler, who later told a court the dad and daughter had a “big argument” about Trump a few days before he was set to be inaugurated for his second term.
Kris and Lucy frequently bristled at her father’s conservative leanings, particularly that he purchased a Glock 9mm handgun a few years earlier, Littler said.
The argument started when Lucy pressed her father about an unspecified hypothetical scenario regarding a woman who had been sexually assaulted.
“How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I’d been sexually assaulted?” she asked her father.
According to Littler, Kris shot back that it wouldn’t upset him that much because he had two other daughters who were living with him.
It was not immediately clear how Trump factored into the back-and-forth, but his callous response made Lucy “quite upset” and she stormed upstairs.
Later that day, a few minutes before they were going to leave for the airport, Lucy’s father took her hand and led her into his bedroom on the ground floor of the home.
Fifteen seconds later, Littler said he heard a loud bang, followed by Kris screaming for his wife, Heather, according to the outlet.
“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,” Littler said.
According to Kris’ statement to police, he had been watching the news and offered to show her his gun after a segment on gun violence.
“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, admitting he couldn’t recall if his finger was on the trigger.
He said he had battled alcoholism including a stint in rehab, and that he had been drinking before the shooting took place.
Police officer Luciana Escalera noted in her evidence report that she smelled alcohol on Kris’ breath when she responded to the call.
Kris said he “fully accepted” the consequences of his action, and that “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,” in a statement through his attorney.
Lucy’s mother, Jane Coates, described her late daughter as a “real force of life.”
“She cared. She was passionate about things,” she said.
“She loved to have debates about things that meant a lot to her.”