Man active in ministry found shot, killed in Durham parking lot

"I am very proud of my son," said Zeigler's mother, Beverly Spicer Coppin, "from where he came from and where he is today."

Nate Davis, senior pastor at Now Church based in Chapel Hill, called Zeigler a servant to the community.

"His death is a big blow for the community and for the Kingdom," Davis said.

"Wendell Zeigler is probably one of the few people I’ve seen never have a microphone, never have a stage, but have a wide impact on a lot of people."

Zeigler volunteered at the church and, Davis said, ministered at Polk Correctional Institution and in the McDougald Terrace housing complex in Durham.

"He has been in prison ministry a long time," Coppin said. "Wendell has brought so many kids out of the prison and into the church."

Davis cited Zeigler's personal experience in how he connected with others.

"He was a person who was in prison for an amount of time, and he believed that everybody could transition out and become a part of society and the community like he did," he said. "His thing was to encourage them while they were in there that, when they came out, there was hope for them also."

Across Zeigler's life, fellow worshippers, neighbors, co-workers and family remembered the contributions he made to his community, mourning him in person and in messages on social media.

Officers were called to the 1000 block of Fayetteville Street, near Old Fayetteville Street, at 8:20 p.m. Friday. There, they found Zeigler dead of a gunshot.

Durham police ask that anyone with information call Investigator Harton at 919-560-4440, extension 29332 or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.

Church member Rakeem Chambers knows that the Zeigler he knew would have already forgiven his killer.

"I know my brother is in heaven, smiling, happy," he said.