Carpenter travels the country delivering crosses to mass shooting sites
El Paso, Texas — There is something heartbreaking about how routine carpenter Greg Zanis' deliveries have become. But in El Paso, they are the crosses Zanis says he must bear.
"Gun violence, you know, victims, they flock to me. They understand what it is that my messages is it's about. Let's remember these names, let's remember these people," Zanis said.
He made his first cross after the 1996 murder of his father-in-law. The first mass shooting he went to was Columbine. Since then, he's provided more than 26,000 wooden memorials at the site of mass murders and other tragedies across the country.
"I did Las Vegas where 58 people were killed. I did Parkland, Florida. I did Sandy Hook. I did the Orlando night club," he said.
Zanis' next stop is Dayton, Ohio, where nine were killed this weekend.
He has delivered mostly crosses, but Stars of David and crescent moons, as well. So far, he's driven more than half a million miles, the distance to the moon and back, to bring light to communities grieving.
"It's about the heart and I want you to remember these family members in a very unique way," Zanis said.
