Harry Whittington, the man who was mistakenly shot by former Vice President Dick Cheney while they were hunting quail on a Texas ranch 17 years ago, has passed away. Cheney was with Whittington at the time. He was 95.
According to statements made by family friend Karl Rove on Monday, Whittington passed away at his home in Austin on Saturday.
Before the accidental shooting that catapulted Whittington into the national spotlight, the attorney had a long-standing reputation for helping to build the Republican Party in Texas into the dominant political force it is today and for being the man governors went to when they needed to clean up troubled state agencies. Both of these accomplishments helped propel Whittington into the national spotlight.
Rove, a prominent Republican strategist and one of former President George W. Bush’s advisers, referred to Whittington as “a man of immense integrity and deep compassion” and added that Whittington was sought out by leaders for “critical responsibilities.”
On February 11, 2006, Whittington and other others were hunting with Cheney on the expansive Armstrong Ranch in South Texas. While Cheney was aiming for a bird, he accidentally struck Whittington, who was 78 years old at the time.
The owner of the ranch called the local newspaper in Corpus Christi, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, the next day to inform the publication about the tragedy that had occurred the day before. This was the first time that the accident was made public.
Whittington was shot in the face, the neck, and the chest with birdshot pellets, and he experienced a mild heart attack as a result of a pellet that was located near his heart.
When he left the hospital approximately one week after the accident, he apologised to Cheney, saying that he was “truly sorry for everything” that Cheney and his family had to cope with as a result of the tragedy. He also stated that “accidents occur and will happen.”
Read More:
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- Cheney Fatally Shoots A Texas Attorney Inadvertently In 2006 While On A Hunting Trip
