As America continues to come to grips with the mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, which claimed the lives of three 9-year-olds and three adult staff members, celebrities and politicians are speaking out and offering their condolences.
Yesterday (March 27), actress Niecy Nash shared an emotional TikTok video, speaking on the horrific incident, offering her condolences to those affected, and how it hit close to home. Over 30 years ago, Nash’s brother, Michael Ensley, died at 17 during a school shooting at Reseda High in California.
“In 1993, my only brother was killed on his high school campus because somebody brought a gun to school,” Nash said through tears in a TikTok video. “It’s 2023, and there [are] babies who will never make it home to see their parents.”
She added, “And those parents will forever be in a space where they’re like, ‘What was the last thing I said? What was the last lunch I made? What was their last thought [or] experience? Did they call out for me?'”
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On Monday morning, 28-year-old Audrey Hale drove a Honda Fit to the Covenant School, a private Christian facility for young children, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. Armed with two assault-type guns and a 9-millimeter pistol, Hale shot her way through a side door of the school. Once inside, she began walking through the facility and shooting. After receiving a 911 call, authorities arrived on the scene, located Hale, and fatally shot her.
During her video, Nash asked Americans to show more concern for the children’s safety rather than less pressing matters like critical race theory. “These are the wrong things. It’s the wrong thing, and it is indeed the wrong time. We are losing our way,” Nash continued. “Some political groups are so focused on the wrong thing that our children are dying. And there ain’t no coming back from that… Not even a little bit,” Nash continued.
She concluded her video by saying, “I am so sorry. And my prayers go out to those families, ’cause it’s a pain that I don’t wish on nobody. School is the one place where children should be safe. Now, they’ll be safe getting on an airplane. But school? That’s another thing. And it shouldn’t be.”
After her brother’s passing, Nash’s mother, Margaret Ensley, founded Mothers Against Violence in Schools, which Nash is a spokesperson for, on Feb. 22, 1993.