US Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally wounded a companion with shotgun pellets on a weekend quail hunt in Texas.
Lawyer Harry Whittington (78) was listed in stable condition after being brought in on Saturday night, said a spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.
A witness
Mr Cheney's office said Mr Whittington had been hit by birdshot while hunting at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas.
The shooting was first reported by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The vice president's office did not disclose the accident until the day after it happened.
Katharine Armstrong, whose family owns the ranch, was a member of the hunting party and witnessed the accident. She said Mr Cheney, an experienced hunter, did not realise Mr Whittington had rejoined the group without announcing himself, which is proper protocol among hunters.
"They had no idea he was there," Ms Armstrong said. "A bird flew up, the vice president followed it through around to his right and shot, and unfortunately, unbeknownst to anybody, Harry was there and he got peppered pretty good with a spray of 28-gauge pellets.
"He was turning, facing the vice president, but turning to the right, and it sprayed him across the right side of his face, his shoulder, his chest and along the rib cage area," she said.