A 23-year-old woman who was fatally shot by her father while staying at his home in the US was arguing about Donald Trump earlier that day, according to an inquest.
Lucy Harrison, 23, a fashion buyer from Warrington, Cheshire, was shot by her father, Kris Harrison, while staying with his family in Prosper, Texas, last January.
At the inquest at Cheshire Coroner's Court on Tuesday, Lucy’s boyfriend, Sam Littler, said he had travelled with her to the US for the holiday, where her father had relocated when she was a child.
He said Ms Harrison had frequently become upset with her father, who the inquest heard had reportedly been in rehab for alcoholism and spoke of his ownership of a gun.
The couple were due to return home for the UK on the morning of January 10 when a big argument between Ms Harrison and her father about Donald Trump broke out, ahead of his presidential inauguration.
Mr Littler told the inquest: "Kris and Lucy ended up having quite a big argument, which led to Lucy running upstairs and being upset."
He claimed that Ms Harrison had asked her father: "How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I'd been sexually assaulted?"
In response, Mr Littler claimed Mr Harrison had said that he had two other daughters who lived with him, so it would not upset him that much.
He went on to tell the coroner’s court that just half an hour before the couple were due to leave for the airport, Ms Harrison’s father had led her by the hand to the ground-floor bedroom.
After 15 seconds, he said he heard a loud bang, before he said he heard Mr Harrison screaming for his wife, Heather.
Mr Littler said, "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."
The young fashion buyer, who worked for fashion brand Boohoo, was described by her mother Jane Coates as 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."
Mr Harrison did not attend the hearing but, in a statement, said he and his daughter had been watching a news segment on gun crime on television when he told her he had a gun 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 semi-automatic handgun which he kept in the bedside cabinet, he said.
He said he had bought the gun a couple of years before because he wanted a "sense of security" for his family and denied ever discussing it with his daughter before.
A licence is not required when a gun is owned for home defence in Texas, he said.
Mr Harrison said he did not recall whether his finger was on the trigger when he took the gun out of the case.
He said: "As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell."
The inquest heard a grand jury in the US determined there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with Ms Harrison's death.
Mr Harrison acknowledged he had issues with alcohol in the past and said he "briefly lapsed" on the day of his daughter's death 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.
The inquest heard police officer Luciana Escalera, whose evidence was read, noticed the smell of alcohol on Mr Harrison's breath when he was called to the house after the shooting.
CCTV footage showed Mr Harrison had bought two 500ml cartons of Chardonnay from a 7-Eleven store shortly before 1pm that day.
Ana Samuel, representing Mr Harrison, made an application at the start of the hearing for coroner Jacqueline Devonish to recuse herself from the case, saying the inquest had been conducted "in a manner more akin to a criminal investigation than a fact-finding inquiry".
Lois Norris, representing Ms Coates, said the application was an "ambush by Mr Harrison's legal team".
Ms Devonish refused the application to recuse herself.
In a statement issued by his solicitors, 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."
The inquest was adjourned until Wednesday, when the coroner is expected to deliver her conclusions.
