Paul Hughes, a cornerback for Central Missouri who has started all nine games and is fourth on the team in total tackles, was seriously injured in a shooting early Sunday morning.

It happened around 1:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Do Drop Inn, a bar in Knob Noster, Mo, about 12 miles west of the UCM campus, the Johnson County, Mo., Sheriff's Department said.

Hughes was standing between two vehicles when shots were fired, university spokesman Jeff Murphy said in a written statement. He was struck in the abdomen and leg.

Murphy said he did not know if any other students or football players were present at the time.

Murphy said he was flown to a Kansas City hospital. An update on his condition was not available Wednesday.

The sheriff's office on Wednesday said they had not made any arrests in the case and the investigation was ongoing.

Hughes, a sophomore from St. Louis' Hazlewood East High School, has 41 tackles on the season. His seven pass break-ups and seven pass deflections are both team highs. Only fellow defensive back Patrick Lewis has forced more fumbles (3) than him (2).

In what Murphy told me were "unusual" circumstances, Hughes wasn't the only UCM student shot Sunday morning. An unidentified student was shot in the leg at a private residence in Warrensburg about an hour later. Police were called to the home, on West South Street, around 2:30 a.m. There is no indication the two incidents are related.

The student was treated and released from an area hospital. Johnson County prosecutors have charged 18-year-old Joseph R. Somerville, of Warrensburg, with felony assault in the 2nd degree, felony armed criminal action and receiving stolen property.

If I learn anything more about Hughes' condition or suspects in the case, I'll post it here.