Missouri star running back Ahmad Hardy was released from Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on Tuesday, just two days after he was shot in the upper leg at a concert in his home state, according to ESPN.
Hardy is aiming to immediately begin rehab, with the goal of playing this season for the Tigers, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Now a junior, Hardy has led his conference in rushing yards in each of his first two seasons in the collegiate ranks. While starring for Louisiana–Monroe in 2024, he finished atop the Sun Belt with 1,351 yards on the ground. Last year, as Missouri’s lead back, he mounted 1,649 rushing yards, the most in the SEC and the second most nationally.
Hardy underwent surgery Sunday in Mississippi, the Missouri football program announced Monday. In that same statement, the program said Hardy’s timeline to return to football activities was “unknown at this time.”
The school did not release additional details on the shooting. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Laurel, Mississippi, police declined to reveal too much information about the shooting, citing an active investigation.
That said, they told WJTV 12 News the shooting occurred between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. local time on Sunday in Laurel, where the concert had been moved from Hattiesburg.
Police informed the Laurel Leader-Call on Monday the incident took place at a bike club and at least two people were injured and three people of interest were in custody.
“There had been a scheduled concert there of some rappers, or maybe a couple of different rappers,” Laurel police sergeant Macon Davis told the Leader-Call. "It drew a large crowd, and then gunshots rang out at the end.”
But ABC 17 reported Tuesday the three people of interest the Laurel Police Department detained have since been released, and that no other arrests have been made.
Hardy, 20, is coming off a head-turning season at Missouri. In addition to his impressive yardage total, he also scored 16 rushing touchdowns.
Before that, as a freshman at ULM, he piled up 13 rushing touchdowns, en route to earning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors.
Following his first two seasons of college football, Hardy was getting high-round draft buzz for the 2027 NFL Draft.
