shotgun

Well the story of Cheney's shooting incident this past weekend is really
growing. The downplaying of the incident to be minor injuries now appears to
also be fabricated per the

Associated Press:

Cheney apparently did not see Whittington, and the vice president
accidentally hit him in the face, neck and chest with bird shot.

So we know that Cheney damn near killed this poor guy. What really troubles
me is how the White House seems to continue to downplay the actual accident. It
is not the place of the White House to decide if Cheney was at fault or not and
the severity of the injuries. Those decisions are left to law enforcement,
prosecutors and also the medical staff.

From this same article we also learn that Bush was notified on Saturday night
about the accident:

White House chief of staff Andy Card told Bush Saturday night about
Cheney's involvement in the shotgun accident.

McClellan was informed Saturday night that someone in the Cheney hunting
party was involved, but he didn't know that Cheney was the shooter until the
next morning, the spokesman said.

McClellan said when he learned, around 6 a.m. Sunday, he urged the vice
president's office to get the information out "as quickly as possible."

Of course McClellan is now saying that "I think you can always look back at
these issues and look at how to do a better job," when asked about the series of
events.

One big question still remains out there though. This question involves the
notification of law enforcement. Any shooting incident is required to be
reported to local authorities. If the parties involved don't notify them then
the hospital will.

From the
AP:

Times’ Marine of the Year charged in
shooting; two injured

Associated Press

LAWRENCE, Mass. — A man who was named “Marine of the Year” last month for
his service in Iraq injured two people when he fired a shotgun from his
apartment window at a group of revelers leaving a night club, police said. A
15-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man were injured by bullet fragments when
Daniel Cotnoir, 33, of Lawrence, allegedly fired a bullet at the crowd outside
his second-floor apartment early Saturday.

Minutes before the shooting, Cotnoir called police to complain about the
noise coming from the street around 2:50 a.m., The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune
reported.

Cotnoir, whose wife and two daughters were home at the time of the
shooting, later told police he feared for his family’s safety because someone
threw an empty juice bottle through his bedroom window.

Cotnoir was arrested and held on $100,000 bail. He was to be arraigned
Monday in Lawrence District Court on attempted murder charges.

Lissette Cumba, 15, and Kelvin Castro, 20, of Lowell, were treated for
gunshot wounds. Both have been released from local hospitals.

“It was the craziest night of my life,” Castro said. “I don’t know what
that guy’s intentions were.”

Cotnoir has frequently called police to complain about noise and fights
outside the Punto Finale nightclub. Last year, police said, he claimed someone
leaving the club had fired a gunshot at his apartment.