Hours before he was scheduled to testify at trial, the victim in a Lawrence aggravated-battery case was shot and seriously injured late Tuesday in Ottawa.

Ottawa police found Michael S. Miller shortly after 10:38 p.m. Tuesday lying in the street in the 1500 block of South Hickory Street with numerous gunshot wounds from a small-caliber handgun, Ottawa police Capt. Randy Allan said. He was taken to Ransom Memorial Hospital by ambulance and later flown to a different hospital, where police said he was in serious condition Wednesday.

Ottawa police are asking for the public’s help finding a medium-sized, blue minivan that a witness said drove north away from the shooting with its lights off. It was last seen turning north on Main Street at 15th Street in Ottawa, a town of about 12,000 people 30 miles south of Lawrence.

Miller, 48, was scheduled to testify Wednesday in the trial of Louis G. Galloway, 43, who was charged with battering Miller in September 2005 in an alleged home burglary at Miller’s former address, an apartment at 1200 N.Y.

Galloway has been in custody in recent weeks in the Douglas County Jail. His trial has been rescheduled for Jan. 9.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said Ottawa police notified his office of the shooting Tuesday night, but he said he couldn’t comment about whether there was any connection between the shooting and the trial.

“The investigation is ongoing, and it involves the victim in our case that was set for trial this morning,” Branson said. “At this point in time, we can’t discuss the investigation any further than that.”

Police did not say what hospital was treating Miller as of Wednesday. He was not listed as a patient at Kansas University Hospital or Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

“We’re still looking at a lot of leads,” Allan said. “Obviously, someone who’s committed an act such as this is a hazard to the public safety, and we’d encourage the public to be of as much assistance to us as possible in closing this case.”

Police ask anyone with information about the case to call the TIPS hot line at (888) 311-8477 or the dispatch center at (785) 242-1700.