NEPTUNE, Calif., March 31 — The Pussycat Dolls, a Los Angeles-based burlesque dance ensemble, have become the focus of a statewide manhunt following their alleged shooting of a local college student.

Veronica Mars, 19, a freshman at Neptune’s Hearst College, was admitted to Neptune County General Hospital Friday night with a gunshot wound to the back of the head, according to police records. Ms. Mars, a controversial figure and local celebrity following her involvement in 2004’s sensational Lilly Kane murder case, remains comatose and in critical condition in the hospital’s ICU following nearly 12 hours in surgery.

“At this point, we’re doing everything we can to keep her alive,” said Dr. Robert Thomas, chief of neurosurgery. “Until very recently, I would have given her odds of survival at 60/40, but now I’m afraid I’m much less confident.” He expects to know more about Ms. Mars’ long-term chances by mid-May.

According to police reports and eyewitness accounts, Ms. Mars was abruptly shot late Friday while leaving her job at the campus library.

“It was horrible,” said Cindy Mackenzie, 18, a friend of Ms. Mars and alleged eyewitness, fighting back tears. “I was coming across the quad, and I saw her waving to me. And then this whole entourage of walking venereal diseases just, just appeared out of nowhere, and one of them took out a pistol and fired.”

At present, law enforcement officials officially have no leads on the motive for the shooting, nor any idea why a dance ensemble known for its provocative outfits would wish to attack a college student. The Neptune County sheriff’s department is currently led by the victim’s father, Keith Mars, former private investigator and author of the national bestseller Big Murder, Small Town.

Sheriff Mars declined comment for this story. Deputy Oliver Sacks characterized him as “really broken up” by his daughter’s attack. “He hasn’t left the hospital since it happened,” Sacks said. “I don’t think he’s even slept. He keeps saying, ‘Why didn’t they just shoot me?’”

“I just don’t get it,” said Wallace Fennell, 19, a breakout freshman star of the Hearst College basketball team, who has known Ms. Mars since high school. “Veronica’s never been popular. And I’ve seen her plenty of times where it seemed like she was struggling — fighting for her life, even — against more popular, better-connected people. But it seemed like she’d built up a loyal group of supporters, people devoted enough to stick with her and help her out. I mean, I haven’t seen much of her lately, but I guess I figured I didn’t have to worry about her anymore.”

“Somebody’s gotta be behind this,” said Eli Navarro, 21, a Hearst campus janitor and sometime associate of Ms. Mars. “The Fitzpatricks [a local biker gang], somebody. I’ve heard all about those girls, and they got ‘puppet’ written all over them. It’s like, they don’t even open their mouths unless it’s somebody else’s voice coming out.”

Logan Echolls, reportedly Ms. Mars’ former boyfriend, vehemently declined comment upon his departure from her bedside at the hospital. Hours later, he surrendered to Neptune County sheriff’s deputies after firebombing an empty strip club on the outskirts of the city limits.

Ms. Mars has been a polarizing figure in Neptune, despite her young age. She had gained a reputation as an amateur sleuth among classmates, and friends say her investigations made her no shortage of enemies.

On the national stage, she became known for her intimate involvement in the investigation of her friend Lilly Kane’s death; her much-disputed testimony in the subsequent trial of Logan Echolls’ father, Hollywood superstar Aaron Echolls, for Ms. Kane’s murder; and her assistance to Neptune County sheriff’s deputies in identifying the perpetrator of the 2005 bombing of a Neptune High School bus that killed 15 students and a teacher. Most recently, she provided evidence that helped the department charge Timothy Foyle, a Hearst teacher’s aide, with the murder of Dean Cyrus O’Dell.

Henry “Hank” Landry, a former suspect in Dean O’Dell’s murder, and currently awaiting trial for manslaughter in the death of Mr. O’Dell’s wife Mindy, served as Ms. Mars’ criminology professor before his dismissal from the college. From jail, he spoke warmly and openly of Ms. Mars’ promise as a student. “There was talk that she might have a future at the FBI,” Mr. Landry said. “I can only imagine she would have done superbly in that setting, and it’s an understatement to say I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get to see her go on to bigger and better things.”

California’s CrimeWatch Network, a loose affiliation of law enforcement agencies commonly known by its initials, has assumed control over the hunt for suspects in Ms. Mars’ shooting. “With all respect to Veronica Mars,” said Dawn Ostroff, the head of the network, “we feel it’s more cost-effective at this juncture to concentrate on our dragnet. We’ve already found several of the troupe’s members, and we are confident that we’ll locate more in subsequent weeks. The CW Network has no greater priority than the search for the next Pussycat Doll.”