'I'm begging you:' 9-year-old writes letter to sheriff asking for better school security

NEW TAZEWELL, Tenn. -- When she heard about the Parkland school shooting, a Tennessee elementary school student decided she wanted to inspire change.

So 9-year-old Abigail Daniels picked up a pencil and wrote a letter to the sheriff in Claiborne County, asking for better security at her school.

"I almost cried. It brought tears to my eyes, it really did," Sheriff David Ray told WATE of the letter. "It's a shame, a disgrace, that our kids feel unsafe when they're away from home in school."

Abigail's letter read:

Dear Mr. Sceriff [sheriff], I'v [I've] heard about the school shooting and I felt sad and scared! Please I'm begging you please let us have more protection at our schools! I don't want anybody comming [coming] into schools and hurting kids! Please let us have better doors and windows instead of glass door and glass windows. Thank you!

Abagail said that writing the letter made her feel sad.

"It made me think about all the people who died in the shooting and the people who are still alive," she told WATE.

WATE reports that Abigail also asked for a school resource officer. Though some schools in the county have SROs, Ray said he plans to prepare a budget to explore what it would cost to have one at every school.

Mom Deanna Daniels said Abigail also wrote a letter to her principal. She added it was all Abigail's idea, and she believes it taught her an important lesson.

"This lets her know that her little voice can be heard, no matter how small she is," she said. "So I'm very proud of her."