Ray said he came to the store Tuesday knowing it was still fenced off as an active crime scene, "but I'm just here to serve, to help out in any way that I can, ... to just be here as a ministry of presence."

"It's my local supermarket," said Daniel Regut, who placed flowers against a chain link fence outside the store. His bouquet joined many others.

"Like, you hear across the country every time (there's a mass shooting). I never thought it would happen here," he said. "And anybody who knows Boulder really knows how true that is. You'd never expect that to happen here."

Cars streamed by through the day. One sign perched near the store said, "Always in our hearts." Another read, "Our thoughts and love are with you."

Outside Boulder Police headquarters, the hood of Talley's vehicle was covered with flowers. One man paused to salute the cruiser.

At a briefing for journalists, Chief Herold — a veteran of more than a quarter-century of law enforcement in Cincinnati who came to Boulder a year ago — called the mass shooting "heartbreaking."

"It's hard. It's challenging," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "I live three blocks up the street from that store. You're worried about your neighbors, you're worried about your partners. You're worried about everything when you get that call."

"It's natural for us to feel the pain," Pastor Ray said. Addressing the Boulder community, he said: "Let's continue to pray for one another, ... and let's continue to love one another."