Angie Harmon describes the horror of watching Instacart driver shoot her dog dead in 'self defense'

Actress Angie Harmon broke down in tears as she recalled the moment an Instacart driver shot her beloved dog dead in 'self defense'.

The Law & Order star wept as she described hearing the screams of her youngest child after she realized what had happened.

'You don't ever forget that sound,' Harmon told Good Morning America. 'I heard my youngest screaming. I just heard her say, did you just shoot my dog? I was like, what?'

Harmon's beagle mix Oliver was shot and killed at her North Carolina home during what should have been a routine transaction through the grocery delivery app. The driver claimed he was attacked, but Harmon said there was no evidence of this.

Police who investigated the incident decided not to press charges after the courier told them he had fatally wounded the dog after it tried to bite him. Harmon is now planning a lawsuit. 

Actress Angie Harmon broke down in tears as she recalled the moment an Instacart driver shot her beloved dog dead in 'self defense'

Harmon's beagle mix Oliver was shot and killed during what should have been a routine transaction through the grocery delivery app

The Law & Order star, pictured at the UNICEF ball in 2017,  wept as she described hearing the screams of her youngest child after she realized what had happened

'It's so unfathomable to think there is somebody in your front drive way that just fired a gun,' she sobbed.

Harmon, 51, had placed a grocery order for Easter Sunday through Instacart and was communicating with a sfemale hopper named, 'Merl' at the time of the delivery.

However, the driver who showed up was a man. 

'I think it didn't really hit us until later. That's when we called Instacart,' she added. 

'They were just like, "oh gosh, that's terrible. We'll see what we can do. We'll get back to you." I was like, no, you don't understand. 

'This man was claiming to be -- it looked like we were talking to a middle age slightly older woman named Merl, who was talking to me and talking to me about my order. That's not who showed up at my house.'

With no criminal charges forthcoming, Harmon has now filed a lawsuit against the driver and Instacart seeking $25,000 alleging criminal trespassing and negligence among others.

'I think Instacart is beyond responsible for all of this. Like, this didn't have to happen. And, you know, the damages that it has done to our family,' Harmon said.

Police who investigated the incident decided not to press charges after the courier told them he had fatally wounded the dog after it tried to bite him

Harmon has now filed  a lawsuit against Instacart and the shopper who shot her dog. 

Harmon flagged concerns after the person she was talking to about her order turned out to be a different person who showed up at her house

 She described the traumatic scene as her youngest daughter, 15, confronted the driver.

'I think we were in such shock. I was just screaming at Avery to call 911. When I said that he said, no, I'm calling 911. I'll do it,' Harmon explained.

Audio shows the driver claiming that the dog tried to bite him.

'Your dog tried to bite me. I'm calling you, texting you,' the driver his heard saying.

'I'm on the phone with 911. The dogs went off. The dog is trying to bite me. So what am I supposed to do? I shot one of them.'

But mom-of-two Harmon, who was previously married to NFL player Jason Sehorn, said there were no signs of any attack such as bite marks or torn clothing.

'As hard as it is, getting the word out there that people need to know that, you know, who they're talking to on Instacart is not necessarily who's gonna show up at your house,' Rizzolo & Isles star Harmon added.

To shop with Instacart, every prospective shopper must agree to and complete a thorough background check and carrying a weapon is forbidden. 

'Our hearts continue to be with Ms. Harmon and her family following this disturbing incident. While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we have no tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper account has been permanently deactivated from our platform,' a spokeswoman said.