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Hunter Shot By Cheney Suffers Heart Attack, Remains at Risk

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 21:00 CST

WASHINGTON _ Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting incident took on a more serious edge Tuesday when the shooting victim suffered a heart attack caused by Cheney's errant birdshot.

Doctors said Austin, Texas, lawyer Harry Whittington, 78, remained at risk from a pellet embedded in his heart muscle. The birdshot triggered a mild heart attack and forced Whittington to undergo a cardiac catheterization. The procedure is typically used to look for arterial blockages or other problems.

"Some of the birdshot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart in what we would say is a minor heart attack," said Peter Banko, the administrator of Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial, at a news conference. David Blanchard, the hospital's chief of emergency care, said Whittington suffered "a silent heart attack" that lacked many of the typical symptoms.

Cheney is unlikely to face any criminal charges because law enforcement officials have found no evidence of wrongdoing, experts on Texas hunting laws said.

"It's a straight-forward accident. The facts are not going to change," said Tom Harvey, a spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "There's not going to be criminal wrongdoing."

According to witnesses, Cheney accidentally shot Whittington in the face, neck and chest on Saturday after the Austin lawyer strayed from the vice president's group during a quail hunt at a South Texas ranch. By their testimony, Cheney failed to honor the first rule of hunting, as posted by the National Rifle Association and other pro-hunting groups: Be sure of your target and that you can fire safely into the area beyond it before you pull the trigger.

Cheney, who has his own history of heart trouble, called Whittington Tuesday at his hospital room in Corpus Christi, Texas, to offer his best wishes, according to a statement issued by the vice president's office.

"Mr. Whittington's spirits were good," the statement added, "but obviously his situation deserves the careful monitoring his doctors are providing."

Whittington's health setback was the latest twist in an incident that has drawn reactions ranging from laughter to anger. The chuckling that peaked on late-night talk shows Monday was echoed by the White House Tuesday morning before word of Whittington's condition snuffed out the laughter.

Before he was aware that Whittington's condition had worsened, White House spokesman Scott McClellan took note that the national champion University of Texas football team would be visiting President Bush later Tuesday, and he attempted some shooting-related humor.

Observing that the team colors are burnt orange and white, he said, "The orange that they're wearing is not because they're concerned that the vice president may be there."

Later, McClellan sparred for a second straight day with journalists frustrated that the public had been kept in the dark about the shooting for almost a day.

The incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday EST, but the first public acknowledgment came about 18 hours later _ and only then because Katharine Armstrong, Cheney's host in Texas, thought she should call the local paper, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The story broke nationally about 3:45 p.m. EST on Sunday after the local paper posted it on its Web site.

After initially expressing sympathy with media complaints about the slow notification, McClellan on Tuesday belittled questions about the shooting.

"If you want to continue to spend time on that, that's fine," he told reporters who pressed him to explain the delay. "We're moving on to the priorities of the American people."

Before Whittington's setback Tuesday, late-night TV comedians had a field day with the shooting incident Monday night.

"I think Dick Cheney is starting to lose it," Jay Leno said on NBC. "After he shot the guy, he screamed, `Anyone else want to call domestic wiretapping illegal?'"

For more information about hunting safety, visit the National Rifle Association at www.nra.org, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at www.tpwd.state.tx.us, and the International Hunter Education Association at www.ihea.com. For the first two sites, key in the search words "hunter safety" to access the rules.

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(c) 2006, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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PHOTOS (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): CHENEY

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com. 1027116

Source: Knight Ridder Washington Bureau

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