A former R. E. Lee High School football star is still in critical condition after he was shot early Sunday morning in Harrisonburg.

Reginald "Shay" Nicholson remains at UVA Medical Center after being shot in the head outside a party at the Hunters Ridge apartments.

Harrisonburg Police say they have been investigating the shooting since it occurred, as the gunman remains at large. Parents are calling the police department and James Madison University with concerns about safety.

Police say parents should speak openly with their children about putting safety first, especially at off-campus "open door" parties. Police say they're confident they'll make an arrest in the shooting of Nicholson.

Students, like Kate Trotta, say the area where the shooting occurred isn't described as a typical quiet neighborhood that was suddenly rocked by violence.

"It's not usually people who are at the party or people who have friends at the party," says Trotta. "It's random people who show up and start things."

Police say last weekend's shooting happened after a fight broke out at one of the door-to-door parties. Harrisonburg Police Lt. Kurt Boshart says there's long been concern about open-door parties off-campus.

"We've seen this type of activity before," says Boshart. "This is nothing new for us to see this at these parties. We've had shots fired before. We've had the assaults before. This time someone actually got hit with a bullet."

Claire Molinaro is active in Greek life at JMU. At the Sigma Chi fraternity house, they have about three to four parties a month, but all guests have to be registered and monitored to make sure no unwelcome people get in.

"For safety obviously," says Molinaro, an assistant Greek coordinator for JMU. "And, everyone gets wrist bands and checks on their hands to prove they've been through the official check in."

Police say it's at the off-campus complexes where they see most of the trouble.

"They're all open parties. It'd be really difficult to start not letting people in. It might become a stereotype thing, which would be worse," says Trotta.

So far, police have not said if the shooting is gang-related. They say they're also working with federal agencies to try to find the shooter.

If you have any information that can help in this case, police encourage you to call Crime Solvers at 540-574-5050. You can remain anonymous.