Posted on 02/12/2006 12:46:46 PM PST by bayourant
Edited on 02/12/2006 2:10:43 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday.
Harry Whittington, 78, was "alert and doing fine" after Cheney sprayed him with shotgun pellets on Saturday while the two were hunting at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong.
Armstrong said Whittington was mostly injured on his right side, with the pellets hitting his cheek, neck and chest, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Whittington was in stable condition Sunday, said Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.
Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, and his wife at the hospital on Sunday afternoon.
Armstrong said she was watching from a car while Cheney, Whittington and another hunter got out of the vehicle to shot at a covey of quail late afternoon on Saturday.
Whittington shot a bird and went to look for it in the tall grass, while Cheney and the third hunter walked to another spot and found a second covey.
Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself," Armstrong told the Associated Press in an interview.
"The vice president didn't see him," she continued. "The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And by god, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good."
The shooting was first reported by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
She said Whittington was bleeding but not very seriously injured, and Cheney was very apologetic.
"It broke the skin," she said. "It knocked him silly. But he was fine. He was talking. His eyes were open. It didn't get in his eyes or anything like that."
She said emergency personnel traveling with Cheney tended to Whittington, holding his face and cleaning up the blood.
"Fortunately, the vice president has got a lot of medical people around him and so they were right there and probably more cautious than we would have been," she said. "The vice president has got an ambulance on call, so the ambulance came."
Armstrong said Cheney is a longtime friend who comes to the ranch to hunt about once a year. She said Whittington is a regular, too, but she thought it was the first time the two men hunted together.
"This is something that happens from time to time. You now, I've been peppered pretty well myself," said Armstrong.
___
Associated Press writer Paul Weber in Dallas contributed to this report.
I wondered when we would all finally realize that we need to shoot a few lawyers to get our country back! I didn't think I would vote for Dick in the republican primary before. But, now that he's shot a lawyer! I think he does represent the republican party well. Will somebody please tell me where I get a permit and is there a bag limit on lawyers, or is it limitless like on varmints.
Was Mr. Whittington wearing the mask of (fill in your favorite Democrat)_________?
I can hear the speeches tomorrow, demanding a Special Prosecutor and FBI investigation. When Fox reported this, I couldn't help but chuckle as they identified Whittingham as the "victim."
For hunting accidents, this is relatively minor. As sure as the late night TV jokes will abound, I can't wait to see Dems jump on it to try to embarrass the administration and make total fools of themselves, again.
You are the one that is really scary, You just made my point by saying that she was almost hit by a bullet from a careless hunter,but it could have been a safe hunter also. This happens and there is no solution I can see. I do not like guns, and I cannot stomach people that do not read the post or understand what is being pointed out. This old man failed to obey the rules and ended up in the line of fire as testified to by those in attendance. VP Cheney does not have eyes in the back of his head,and as I said before if I was cheney and this man did this to me so that I was not able to react, then it was his fault as the witnesses stated. You are mixing apples and oranges. I referred to two different things. One that innocent People that live near wooded Hunting areas can be injured and sometimes it is nobody's fault. Two that if I am in the same position as VP was and did everything right and the man walked into my firing line it is his fault for not following the rules. Reread the post it is making two points not one altogether. What do you want to do restrict Hunters from hunting, that is left wing stuff and counterproductive. I feel like I am discussing this with Chuckie Schumer.
Let's face it--Cheney has a history of irresponsibly abusing booze and there is a definite possibility that he was drunk--and perhaps he didn't have a hunting license as well. That would explain the 24 wait to notify the press--they had to get the booze out of him and wake up some fish and game lakey to back-date the paperwork for the license.
I knew that. ;-)
Bill to Regulate the Hunting and Harvesting of Attorneys370.01 Any person with a valid in-state rodent or snake hunting license may also hunt and harvest attorneys for recreational and sport (non-commercial) purposes.
370.02 Taking of attorneys with traps or deadfalls is permitted. The use of United States currency as bait, however, is prohibited.
370.03 Stuffed or mounted attorneys must have a state health department inspection for rabies, and vermin.
370.04 The willful killing of attorneys with a motor vehicle is prohibited, unless such vehicle is an ambulance being driven in reverse. If an attorney is accidentally struck by a motor vehicle, the dead attorney should be removed to the roadside, and the vehicle should proceed immediately to the nearest car wash.
370.05 It is unlawful to chase, herd or harvest attorneys from a power boat, helicopter or aircraft.
370.06 It is unlawful to shout, "WHIPLASH", "AMBULANCE", or "FREE SCOTCH" for the purposes of trapping attorneys.
370.07 It is unlawful to hunt attorneys within 100 yards of BMW, Mercedes or Porsche dealerships, except on Wednesday afternoon.
370.08 It is unlawful to hunt attorneys within 200 yards of courtrooms, law libraries, health clubs, country clubs, hospitals or brothels.
370.09 If an attorney gains elective office, it is not necessary to have a license to hunt, trap or possess the same.
370.10 It is unlawful for a hunter to wear a disguise as a reporter, drugdealer, pimp, female legal clerk, sheep, accident victim, bookie, physician, chiropractor or tax accountant for the purpose of hunting attorneys.
370.11 Bag and Possession Limits per day:
Yellow-bellied sidewinders, 2;
Two-faced tortfeasors, 1;
Back-stabbing divorce litigators, 3;
Horn-rimmed cut-throats, 2;
Minutiae-advocating dirtbags, 4.
Honest attorneys protected (Endangered Species Act).
OMG, you are funny!
LMAO
You are missing the point. Of course if it can be traced to someone, but it is not like the Hunters are followed in the woods. The Woods and the Hunters were there before the Houses were, and I repeat my question do you want all the rights taken away from Hunters. I certainly don't for lots of reasons.
I loved the FOX dame who had a problem understanding what the term 'flushed' was when related with quail hunting. Also, her description of "birdshot" was hilarious! Reporters need to know the subject that they are reporting or should keep their silly mouths shut......
Zing zang zoom Ricochet Rabbit!
LOL!
girlangler, read #750 for a good chuckle.
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!
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