Five people have been injured, one critically, in a shooting at Virginia State University which involved multiple suspects, the university has said.

Officers responded to the incident outside a residence halls at about 01:28 local time (05:28 GMT) on Saturday.

Five individuals, who were all found with gunshot wounds, were taken to local hospitals. Four had injuries which were not deemed to be life-threatening, the university said.

It was not immediately clear if any suspects have been arrested. The BBC has approached local police for comment.

A temporary lockdown on the campus has since been lifted but a “significant” law enforcement presence is still on site, the university confirmed in a statement.

It added that Chesterfield County Police are leading the investigation with help from other local law enforcement and campus police.

Virginia State University (VSU) has about 5,000 students and is just over 20 miles south of Richmond, the capital of the US state of Virginia.

It is also one of the country’s historically black colleges and universities.

Such institutions were created to provide higher education to disenfranchised African Americans, who were otherwise prohibited from attending most colleges.

According to the university’s website, classes for the new term were set to begin on Monday and campus dormitories opened for returning students on Friday.