Niecy Nash, who lost her brother in a school shooting almost 30 years ago, is reflecting on her family’s haunting memory as the nation grieves Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The actor went to social media on Wednesday to talk about the devastating feeling of losing a loved one in a school shooting.
“I’m so sad,” Nash wrote in a video she posted on Instagram. “My brother was killed on his high school campus. It hits different cuz school is a place you should feel safe. I don’t wish it on anyone.”
The 52-year-old included a series of clips in her post, including a video of Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who urged the country to “do something.” Another clip showed one of the little girls who died in the shooting as she spoke to her dad in a video message shortly before her birthday.
“My God,” Nash wrote in the Instagram caption. “#ThisIsAmerica.”
According to Vanity Fair, Nash’s brother Michael Ensley was shot and killed at the age of 17 when a 16-year-old gunman opened fire at Reseda High School in California in 1993. The shooter was sent to a juvenile corrections facility in 2002. He was convicted of attempted first-degree murder during the following year and sent to prison.
After being released in 2011, he was arrested again a year later for allegedly stabbing and killing his wife, Demetra Doyle Heard.
“No family should have to endure the loss of a loved one at the hands of a previously convicted violent criminal. I am deeply saddened to hear that the man who murdered my brother, Michael Ensley, has been charged with murder again.” Nash told TMZ in 2012. “I grieve for every family who has been victimized by this heinous individual. My prayers and love go out to the family of Demetra Doyle Heard during this trying time.”
The actor spoke up again when another mass shooting happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
25 yrs ago today, my only brother, Michael Ensley was killed on his high school campus by kid with a gun. It’s 2018 and the death toll is rising while our spirits are still breaking. You don’t hear the pain. You hear the sound of NRA💰being exchanged. 💔#NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/O5LNHCzqwd
— Niecy Nash (@NiecyNash) February 22, 2018
“25 yrs ago today, my only brother, Michael Ensley, was killed on his high school campus by kid with a gun,” she tweeted at the time. “It’s 2018 and the death toll is rising while our spirits are still breaking. You don’t hear the pain. You hear the sound of NRA [money] being exchanged. #NeverAgain.”
As Blavity previously reported, at least 19 students, as well as two teachers, were killed during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday.
