A dad who fatally injured his 23-year-old daughter while she was on holiday in the US says he is “deeply sorry”.

Lucy Harrison, from Warrington, was at her father’s home in Texas with her boyfriend Sam Littler when she was struck from ‘medium range’ by her father Kris Harrison, an inquest held at Cheshire Coroner’s Court was told.

The Manchester Metropolitan University graduate tragically died from the serious chest injury with the exact circumstances of her passing revealed for the first time this week. Mr Harrison is then alleged to have ‘lied’ about drinking alcohol on the day of the incident on January 10, 2025.

Lucy and her boyfriend Sam Littler had arrived at her dad’s home in Prosper in Texas on December 28, 2024, having flown out from Heathrow Airport. It was when they were due to leave that the tragedy happened, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Medical reports are understood to say that Lucy was struck in the chest by another person and it was also found that she had no alcohol or drugs in her system. A jury in Texas found no-one would be prosecuted over her passing on June 10 last year. The person charged by police is not named in the US state if the jury decides against criminal proceedings.

In a statement issued by his solicitors, Lucy’s dad Mr Harrison said: “I fully accept the consequences of my actions, and 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, and I know that nothing I say can ease the heartbreak this tragedy has caused.

“I cannot undo what happened, but I can honour Lucy by being the best father I can be to her sisters and by carrying her memory forward in everything we do. I am deeply sorry for the pain others feel from this tragedy. Lucy’s spirit — her warmth, her humour, her kindness — will live on in all of us who loved her.”

Mr Harrison did not attend the hearing but said in a statement that he and his daughter had been watching a news segment on weapon-related crime on television when he told her he had a firearm and asked her if she wanted to see it.

When she said yes they went into the bedroom so he could show her the Glock 9mm firearm which he kept in the bedside cabinet, he said. He claimed he bought the firearm a couple of years before because he wanted a “sense of security” for his family, while denying ever discussing it with his daughter before. A licence is not required when a firearm is owned for home defence in Texas, he also stated.

Mr Harrison claimed he did not recall whether his finger was on the mechanism when he took the firearm out of the case. He said: “As I lifted the firearm to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell.”

He acknowledged he had issues with alcohol in the past and said he “briefly lapsed” on the day of his daughter’s passing because he was emotional about her leaving. He said he drank 500ml of white wine over the course of two to three hours earlier in the day.

Ms Harrison’s mother, Jane Coates, said her daughter, who worked for fashion brand Boohoo, was a “real force of life”. She said: “She cared. She was passionate about things. She loved to have debates about things that meant a lot to her.”

Meanwhile testimony given by Lucy’s boyfriend Sam suggested there was an argument between Mr Harrison and his daughter, with this taking place around the time that Donald Trump was inaugurated.

He stated: “That morning I was technically working. The girls were outside playing in the snow but that morning Heather [Harrison, Kris Harrison’s wife] was working in the other room, I was working in the kitchen.

“It was quite wholesome. There was a big argument that morning, it was during the time Trump had been inaugurated, off the back of that Kris and Lucy had a big argument and it led to Lucy running upstairs upset.”