People visited a memorial of flowers and crosses that was set up Thursday outside Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where a shooter fired through the windows the day before, killing two children and wounding 17 people.

Ellie Valdes' son attends preschool at Annunciation Catholic School, but was not in attendance on Wednesday when the shooting happened. Valdes said it was important for her and her family to visit the memorial Thursday.

"Just to come here physically and be in the presence of this community and see what happened and feel and just be here physically is a really important thing for us to process what's happening," Valdes said.

Kurt Curtin of Shoreview, Minneapolis, father of four, previously worked as a teacher at another school and often passed by Annunciation. He visited the memorial Thursday and wrote a message on a cross.

"I couldn't not stop and pay my gratitude and thanks to the, to the people who had to come and respond. And then for all the families just prayers out to them that need to be able to handle this horrific incident," Curtin said.

"I can't imagine sending them to school and not having to be able to pick them up, so, yeah… My hearts are with these families right now," he added.

Erica Calle Dominguez said it is "heartbreaking" that the shooting happened in the city she grew up in, she is planning to become a teacher.

"It's really sad to hear that this is going on right now, and I hope that when I become a teacher that these kind of things aren't going on anymore, they're not as like common," said Dominguez.

Authorities are working to learn the motive of the shooter who fired into a Minneapolis Catholic school’s church.

Officials identified the shooter who killed two children and injured 17 worshippers during Wednesday's Mass as Robin Westman, aged 23.

Officials said Westman was found dead in the parking lot from what they believe was a self-inflicted gunshot.

The Minneapolis police chief said Westman legally purchased the weapons, had no known criminal history and acted alone.

Federal officials referred to Westman as transgender. Officials said Thursday that Westman was a former student at Annunciation Catholic School. Mary Grace Westman, Robin's mother, was employed at the school for five years.

AP video shot by Mark Vancleave