Cheney shoots friend in Texas

by on February 13th, 2006

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/02/13/ap2521888.html

A 78-year-old hunting companion of Vice President Dick Cheney was recovering in stable condition Monday after Cheney accidentally shot him during a weekend quail hunting trip, a hospital official said.

Harry Whittington “rested well last night,” said Peter Banko, hospital administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial. The hospital listed Whittington’s condition as “very stable,” he said.

Whittington, an Austin attorney, was flown to the hospital after Cheney accidentally shot him with birdshot Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch.

“It’s not critical. It’s not serious,” Banko said at a morning briefing. He said admitting Whittington to the trauma-intensive care unit was “a fairly common procedure” for a patient hit by a spray of the small pellets.

“I don’t know how much spray he has got,” Banko said. “My understanding from the physicians is that after you get peppered, sometimes they need to do exploratory surgeries if it gets lodged in a little deeper. Sometimes it’s tweezers.”

Etalkinghead Staff