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Alpharetta school rallies around family of man killed in Craigslist robbery

FULTON COUNTY, Ga — An Alpharetta Christian school is rallying around the family of a Roswell native killed during a robbery Friday night.

Sandy Springs police have accused 20-year-old Nathaniel Vivian and his 16-year-old girlfriend of murdering 28-year-old Danny Zeitz outside of his Treelodge Parkway apartment.

Police said the pair responded to Zeitz’s Craiglist ad to sell them a PlayStation 4 console, but robbed and shot him instead.

“Nobody knows why this happened,” said David Rhodes, headmaster of King’s Ridge Christian School where Zeitz’s mother Patty taught art for 14 years.  “It breaks my heart that Danny is not with us anymore and that this family is having to go through this hardship.”

Rhodes has never met Zeitz, nor have most of his students, but he said when the school learned of the murder, that didn’t stop them from springing into action to help the long-time teacher and her family.

“The thing about King’s Ridge Christian school is it’s a community, it’s a family that loves, supports and cares for each other,” he said.

Rhodes said a committee of parents called upon the community to pray for the family, then started a GoFundMe website to solicit donations for funeral costs. Younger kids created condolence cards for the family, and even the football team plans to honor Zeitz on Friday night.

“Our football team has asked the other team if they’ll put a decal on their helmet, ‘DZ’, for ‘Danny Zeitz,’” he said.

Rhodes said Mt. Paran players have agreed to participate in the remembrance and plan a prayer service prior to the game.

The school, Rhodes said, will also host a private memorial ceremony for the Zeitz family on Saturday that will be open to the school community, family and friends of Danny.  And, he said they have set up a scholarship fund to honor Zeitz.

Graduates who pursue careers in virtual design are eligible for the scholarships, he said.

Zeitz, a semi-professional video-gamer, was passionate about video games and design, Rhodes said.

“What we really want to do is to show Christ’s love to Patty and her family that are in this needful situation,” he said.