The Harrisonburg Police Department is investigating a shooting of a former R.E. Lee High School football player that occurred in the 1300 block of Bradley Drive around 3 a.m Sunday morning.

When police arrived, they found a man in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center with life threatening injuries.

JMU students who live nearby Bradley Street say they heard several shots fired.

One area resident, Katie Soulen, says, "We looked outside and there was some people fighting over there by the cars, then they heard police sirens and they scattered, and then about five police cars showed up and two ambulances and they taped everything off. We were up awake just hanging out and our door was open and we heard like three pops and we just assumed it was fireworks."

Police are not releasing the identity of the shooting victim. However, friends at Liberty University in Lynchburg identify the victim at Reginald "Shay" Nicholson.

According the the Liberty Student News blog, Nicholson was shot in the head in a gravel lot near the Hunter's Ridge town homes. The website also reports a second LU student, Laura Woods, was also fired at and heard a total of three shots. She says the third shot hit Nicholson.

Nicholson is a 2007 graduate of R.E. Lee High School in Staunton and was a member of the school's football team. Nicholson played this past season for the Liberty University Flames.

Because the shooting occurred close to the JMU campus, the university issued a timely notification to alert students of the shooting and to inform the campus community of "the possible threat to the community."

Police have not reported if any arrests have been made in the shooting or if they have identified any suspects.

However, Liberty student Laura Woods, who witnessed the shooting reports two men, one black and one white, were responsible for the shooting.

George Clanton, who lives in the area, says, "We were having cigarettes on the balcony, and it seems like there are gunshots going off all the time around here because people always set off firework. So we didn't think anything about it. It seemed like a really long time before the police got here after the gunshots went off."

The Harrisonburg Police Department says the incident remains under investigation by HPD’s Criminal Investigations Division.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Solvers at 540-574-5050.

UVA Medical Center is currently not releasing any information about Nicholson's condition.