See Dick. Run!

FEBRUARY 13--The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department today issued a report on Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting Saturday of a fellow quail hunter on a sprawling Texas ranch.

The hunting accident report, a copy of which you can find here, briefly recounts how Cheney plugged Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old Austin lawyer, with birdshot in the face, neck, and chest. According to the state report, Cheney was wearing a "blaze orange" cap and "coat/vest" and brown trousers and was toting an Italian-made Perazzi 28-gauge shotgun.

In addition to the document's release, wildlife officials reported today that while Cheney had purchased a valid non-resident hunting license, he did not obtain a required "upland game bird stamp." As a result, a warning citation--which carries no fine or penalty--will be issued to Cheney, which state officials described as "routine."

And as for whether Cheney would have needed to previously take a hunters education course, state wildlife officials noted that such classes are only required of hunters born on or after September 2, 1971. Cheney was born January 30, 1941.

While yet to release its report on the shooting, the Kenedy County Sheriff's Office this afternoon issued a press release noting that an "investigation reveals that there was no alcohol, or misconduct involved in the incident." In an interview with deputies, Whittington "collaborated Vice President Cheney's statement," according to the release, which concluded, "This was no more than a hunting accident." (3 pages)