Police have cleared US Vice President Dick Cheney of any wrongdoing in his weekend hunting accident and have closed the case.
A police spokesman said an investigation had determined Mr Cheney shot Texas lawyer Harry Whittington (78) by accident, therefore no legal action was needed.
President Bush, in his first public comments on the shooting, said last night he was satisfied with the explanation Mr Cheney gave about the incident. "I thought the vice president handled the issue just fine. And I thought his explanation yesterday was a powerful explanation," Mr Bush said in Washington.
US President George W. Bush
Mr Cheney sprayed Mr Whittington with birdshot last Saturday when he whirled around to shoot a flying quail while hunting on a southern Texas ranch.
Mr Whittington tonight described the incident as an accident.
"We all assume certain risks in whatever we do. Regardless of how experienced, careful and dedicated we are, accidents do and will happen," he said.
The mishap blew up into a political furore after Mr Cheney did not disclose it until nearly a day later when he let ranch owner Katharine Armstrong call it into a local newspaper.
The press complained the White House had tried to hide the incident and Democrats charged it showed the secretiveness of the Bush administration.
Mr Cheney finally spoke about it on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News Channel in which he detailed the shooting and described it as "one of the worst days of my life." He rejected criticism he waited too long to make it public.
Mr Whittington was struck in the face, neck and upper torso by up to 200 metal pellets, one of which lodged near his heart and gave him a minor heart attack on Tuesday.
Doctors said there was little danger the birdshot in his body posed any further threat.