"Please, I am begging you, please let us have more protection at our schools," Abigail Daniels, 8, wrote in her letter.
After hearing about students getting gunned down at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, a Tennessee fourth grader is appealing to her local sheriff’s department for more security at her elementary school.
Abigail Daniels, 8, a student at New Tazewell Elementary School, penned an emotional plea to her principals and the Claiborne County sheriff.
"I've heard about the school shootings, and I've felt sad and scared," the letter read. "Please, I am begging you, please let us have more protection at our schools. I don't want anyone coming into our schools and hurting kids."
She told InsideEdition.com that she wanted to make her voice heard after realizing they didn’t have school resource officers or other security around her school.
“We don’t have anybody really who kind of protects us but our principals and our teacher,” Abigail explained. “I thought if I wrote a letter, that would make [them station] at least a cop coming in the mornings and protecting us and seeing what’s going on.”
She decided that she specifically wanted bulletproof doors and windows after hearing one of the Parkland students died despite being in a locked classroom. The gunman had fired through the window, shattering the glass.
Her mom Deanna Daniels was heartbroken to hear these were her daughter’s concerns, but encouraged her to write a letter.
"If she’s feeling this way, there’s tons of kids feeling this way too," Daniels said. "[I told her], 'You have to be nice, and I’ll have to read it, but yes, you can write a letter if that’ll make you feel better.'"
Sheriff David Ray has since read the letter, responding, “Hopefully, one day we can place a police officer in every school to make it even safer for you and others."
Ray has also met with Daniels and thanked her for speaking up.
Her mom said she is proud of Abigail for making her voice heard.
“They still have fear, and they still know what’s happening," Deanna said. "They see the bad and they just want the bad to stop. "That’s all Abby wanted — she doesn’t want to see people hurt, she doesn’t want to see this scare and the tears that were on television. We all felt like even though we don’t know these kids, we do."
Abigail added, “We still care about them.”
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