February 13, 2006 — Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot fellow hunter, 78-year old Austin attorney Harry Whittington, while quail hunting on the south Texas ranch of Anne Armstrong, a former U.S. ambassador to Britain and an adviser to Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush I. The incident occurred during the late afternoon of February 11 but the news was not revealed until February 12 after being confirmed by the White House after the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported the story. The White House sat on the story for 24 hours. Local police were not informed about the incident.

Whittington was hit in the face, neck, and chest with bird shot from Cheney’s shotgun resulting in bleeding wounds. Mrs. Armstrong later told the AP that Whittington failed to signal Cheney that he was approaching him from behind as Cheney turned to fire at a covey of quail. Whittington is listed in stable condition at a Corpus Christi hospital.

WMR has learned that this incident is not the first involving Cheney and hunting accidents. According to informed sources on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, two years ago Cheney was shooting at ducks from a duck blind in Trappe, a Maryland Eastern shore town where former Secretary of State James Baker III maintains a residence. The sources reveal that Cheney nearly accidentally shot half of his hunting party and Secret Service detail. Eyewitnesses to the Maryland duck hunting incident claim that Cheney is "trigger happy" and a "maniac with a gun."

Cheney has since purchased a vacation home in St. Michael’s on the Eastern Shore where he often hunts on weekends and extended stays.

SIDEBAR: Did Cheney violate Texas law? According to a March 14, 2005 article by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, "law violations are common in accident scenarios . . . The primary reason for Texas hunting accidents remains swinging on game outside a safe zone of fire. This happens when a person points a firearm at another hunter while following a moving target, such as a flying game bird. Hunter education teaches people to set up safe zones of fire where a gun can be safely pointed whether the target is moving or stationary. Careless firearm handling remains another primary factor in many accidents . . . Most accidents violated a cardinal rule of hunter safety, were situated in or around a vehicle or stand, and occurred toward dusk and involved fatigue as a factor.

Dove hunting had close to twice the number of accidents (11) as the next highest accident category for 2004, deer hunting (6). This is because hunting birds on the wing involves the greatest risk of swinging on game outside the safe zone of fire."

"Mr. President, the shots came from that bald headed guy in the corn field over there wearing the orange and black coat."