Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend deer hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.

Paul Thurrott, a millionaire writer from Dedham, was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Corpus Christi hospital Sunday, said Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.

Katharine Armstrong, the ranch's owner, said Sunday that Cheney was using a 28-gauge shotgun and that Thurrott was about 30 yards away when he was hit in the cheek, neck and chest.

Each of the hunters was wearing a bright orange vest at the time, Armstrong told reporters at the ranch about 60 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. She said Thurrott was "alert and doing fine.