The Wooden Crosses of Greg Zanis

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For years, master carpenter Greg Zanis has traveled across the country to create and deliver individualized memorial crosses, free of charge. Today, he’s been called upon to help the communities reeling from deadly mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Zanis, 68, says the message he aims to send with his memorials is simple: “Today it’s the first day they get to go to heaven… they’re not suffering anymore. We’re going to see them again.”

He prepared 20 crosses for the people who were killed when a 21-year-old suspect opened fire in an El Paso Walmart on Saturday morning. Dozens more were injured, and the death toll had risen since the shooting to 22 as of Monday afternoon, according to police.

Zanis said he was contacted by the sister of one of the victims, who wanted him to make a cross for her brother. But he told ABC News that he wouldn’t go without creating a memorial for everyone.

“Immediately when I heard about it, I made these crosses, I made them fast,” he said.

He said he drove all day Sunday from his home in Illinois to El Paso, arriving at 4 a.m. Monday. For the first time, he also created 26 “memorials” honoring the survivors as well.