Niecy Nash has opened up about the moment she witnessed her mother get shot in the back by an ex-boyfriend.
The “Claws” star recalled the horrific scene for UMC’s “Behind Her Faith,” noting that she was 15-years-old when the attack on her mom, Margaret Ensley, occurred.
“I probably would say I learned the power of prayer when my mother was shot,” Nash says in the clip above. “When I saw her laying out in that backyard, shot down like a dog in the street by a man who said he loved her, and what that recovery process was going to have to look like in order for her to be able to come back from that — and then, doubles down, not only are you shot, but now, some years later, your son is shot,” she added.
Eight years after her mom was shot (and survived), Nash’s younger brother, Michael, was fatally shot at age 17 over a love triangle.
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Nash previously opened up about her loss and family’s grief in a 2010 interview with PEOPLE.
“My mother said, ‘I give up,’” she said of her mother’s reaction to Michael’s death. But the comedian refused to let her mom dwell in darkness and depression. That’s when she began telling jokes to help cheer her up.
“That’s when I realized comedy was a gift,” said Nash.
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Ensley was ultimately able to bounce back,.
“Just to try and see how she’s been able to keep a reasonable portion of her mind and find joy again,” Nash continued. “That is where I really leaned in and could see it, could see the power in that space.”
Niecy’s episode of “Behind Her Faith” aired Thursday on UMC, the first streaming service for Black TV and film from AMC Networks.
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