US former president, Dick Cheney shot Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old Texas attorney, with a 28-gauge Perazzi shotgun on February 11, 2006.
Cheney and Whittington both referred to the event as an accident as it occurred while taking part in a quail hunt on a ranch in Riviera, Texas.
Dick Cheney Shooting Accident- Video Gone Viral
Former Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a hunting partner, spraying him with shotgun pellets in the face and chest.
Cheney unintentionally shot Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old Texas attorney, on February 11, 2006, while taking part in a quail hunt at the Armstrong ranch.
Mr. Whittington cleared Mr. Cheney of any wrongdoing after a shotgun pellet lodged close to his heart and caused a minor heart attack.
“We all assume certain risks in whatever we do, whatever activities we pursue,” he said as he was being released from the Corpus Christi hospital. Accidents do and will happen, regardless of our experience, caution, or dedication.
The otherwise healthy-looking Mr. Whittington said: “My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice-President Cheney and his family have had to go through.
People are still discussing the incident sixteen years later and are searching for videos on Twitter. “People are upset that Dick Cheney is shooting advertisements. I remember when Dick Cheney shot his friend,” one of the user tweets.
Similarly, they are also talking about his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney. Trump-backed Harriet Hageman defeated Cheney by 37 points in the Republican primary in Wyoming on August 16, 2022.
She has also been the talk of the town after she lost to Hageman.
What Actually Happened During Dick Cheney’s Accidental Shooting?
The former vice president, Dick Cheney, and a few friends were quail hunting on a ranch in south Texas when the accident happened.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times broke the story locally on its website, but the vice president’s office did not make it public until almost 24 hours later, according to CBS News correspondent Susan Roberts.
The owner of the ranch Katharine Armstrong stated on Sunday that Whittington was shot from a distance of approximately 30 yards while Cheney was firing a 28-gauge shotgun.
Whittington, 78, was reportedly hit in the cheek, neck, and chest, according to CBS News correspondent Joie Chen.
At the time, each hunter was donning a visibly orange vest, Armstrong told reporters at the ranch, which is located about 60 miles south of Corpus Christi. Whittington, according to her, was “alert and doing fine.”
Whittington was treated by emergency personnel traveling with Vice President Cheney before being transported to a Kingsville hospital in an ambulance, Armstrong told The Associated Press.
Whittington was then transported by helicopter to Corpus Christi, which is located about 40 miles away.
Dick Cheney’s Wife Lynne Cheney
Dick Cheney is married to his wife, Lynne Cheney since 1964 and is the parents of two wonderful daughters. From 1986 to 1996, she served as the National Endowment for the Humanities chair.
She started the higher education reform-focused think tank American Council of Trustees and Alumni in 1995.
She works as a senior fellow in the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research’s department of education and culture.
The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. also has her on its board of directors. Cheney took over for Tony Snow as co-host of CNN’s Crossfire on Sundays from 1995 to 1998.
From 1994 to 2001, Cheney was a member of the board of directors at Lockheed Corporation. Shortly before her husband’s inauguration, she resigned from the $120,000-per-year position.
Lynne had previously served on the finance, nominating, and corporate governance committees of the Lockheed board. She was mentioned as a potential conservative female choice for the George W. Bush campaign’s Republican vice presidential nominee in 2000.
Lynne is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a public speaker, and an author.
Dick Cheney’s Family
Dick Cheney is a family man, with his wife Lynne, two daughters, and seven grandchildren. Elizabeth(Liz) Cheney, born on July 28, 1966, and Mary Cheney, born on March 14, 1969, are their daughters.
Their daughter Mary is a lesbian. Both Lynne and her husband Dick have publicly supported same-sex marriage during and after his vice presidency.
His daughter Liz is married to Philip J. Perry, a former general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security since 2017.
Mary is a former employee of the Colorado Rockies baseball team and the Coors Brewing Company. She now resides in Great Falls, Virginia with her wife Heather Poe, who worked as a campaign aide for the Bush re-election.