ATLANTA — Former Valdosta High athlete Brice Hunter, one of the top wide receivers in University of Georgia history, was shot and killed early Sunday after an argument with a neighbor in his Chicago apartment building.

Hunter, 30, had been working as a trainer in a downtown health club, his mother-in-law told the Chicago Tribune.

The newspaper reported Hunter went to the basement apartment of his three-flat building to talk to a neighbor who had complained about loud music coming from Hunter’s apartment. The two men fought and Hunter was shot in the chest, stomach and forearm, the Tribune reported. He died less than an hour later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thomas Williams, 38, was charged with failing to register a weapon after the pre-dawn shooting.

Hunter played for Georgia from 1992 to 1995. He holds the school record for receptions in a season (76 in 1993) and is second with 182 career receptions.

He was a member of Valdosta High’s 1989 and ’90 state championship football teams, and was a record-setting track and field performer, winning a state championship in the hurdles in 1992. Hunter still holds the school record in the 300 meter hurdles.

“He was one of the best I’ve ever coached,” said longtime Valdosta High receivers coach Bob Bolton. “He did everything we ever asked of him. He was a leader on the field and off the field.

“He was a player who always wanted the ball in clutch situations. And in those situations, he never let me down.”

Hunter also returned to Valdosta to participate in Randall Godfrey’s football camps held in early June.

“He was very unselfish,” Bolton said. “He would do anything to help the team.”

Hunter had a brief NFL career, playing two years for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one season for the Miami Dolphins.

“He worked so hard in practice,” Bolton said. “He may have been a better practice player than he was a game player, just because he was always pushing himself in practice.”

Hunter was married to former Georgia basketball player Brandi Decker.

Hunter was not heavily recruited out of high school, but a Georgia coach, who was recruiting star linebacker Dexter Daniels, happened to mention to Valdosta High head coach Nick Hyder and several assistants that Georgia was looking for a receiver.

That day, Bolton had received a highlight tape of Hunter, and showed it to the coach. The coach was impressed, took the tape back to Athens, and Georgia wound up giving him Hunter a scholarship.