How Donald Trump replied to girl’s gut-wrenching letter

“DEAR Ava, It is very brave of you to share your story with me. Mrs. Trump and I are so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, Jacob.”

A YOUNG girl has written to US President Donald Trump pleading with him to keep children safe following a horrific school shooting which claimed the life of her best friend.

Ava Olsen was in standing in the playground in Townville, South Carolina in 2016 when police allege a teen gunman drove up to the playground and began firing on students.

The shooting claimed the life of her best friend Jacob Hall and left her with post traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reported.

Despite being home schooled following the trauma, Ava feared for her brother Cameron who continued to attend classes, and wrote to President Trump asking him to help end gun violence.

She began by explaining how she had lived through the shooting months before.

“Dear Mr President,” she wrote.

“I heard and saw it all happen and I was very scared. My best friend, Jacob, was shot and died. That made me very sad. I loved him and was going to marry him one day. I hate guns. One ruined my life and took my best friend.”

Ava asked how he would protect children from further tragedies and finished by asking Mr Trump to keep kids safe from guns.

However the family were surprised when the President responded.

Ava’s mother Mary opened the letter and shared it with her daughter.

The letter revealed how sorry the President and First Lady were to hear about Jacob’s death and how brave she was for sharing her story.

“Schools are places where children learn and grow with their friends,” the letter read.

“Their halls should be free of fear,” the letter read. “It is my goal as President to make sure that children in America grow up in safe environments, giving them the best opportunity to realise their full potential. I will continue to focus on protecting Americans and improving the safety of our Nation.”

Mr Trump concluded his letter by saying there were plenty of people who loved and supported her and that he and the First Lady hoped she achieved all her dreams.

The issue of gun control remains a controversial topic in a country which enshrines gun ownership in the constitution.

Ava’s letter also comes as Los Angeles Police are investing how a young girl brought an unregistered gun to school.

The semiautomatic went off accidentally inside the backpack of a 12-year-old girl in a Los Angeles middle school classroom, sending a single bullet tearing through the wrist of another girl before hitting a boy in the head, police said on Friday.

Los Angeles police spokesman Josh Rubenstein said detectives are trying to figure out where the girl got the gun, which was unregistered, and why she brought it to school. It wasn’t clear what made it fire.

The girl, who was taken into custody minutes after the shooting, has retained a lawyer and isn’t answering questions and is facing several charges, prosecutors said.

Jordan Valenzuela, a 12-year-old classmate of the girl’s, told The Associated Press that he was in the room next door when the gun went off and talked to her minutes later.

“She was crying,” Jordan said. “She was like, ‘I didn’t mean to. I had the gun in my backpack and I didn’t know it was loaded and my backpack fell and the gun went off.”’ Jordan said he saw a hole in the backpack, which the girl was holding, when she asked him to hide the gun for her.

“I said ‘No,”’ he said. “Then I moved away from her because I was a little bit scared.”

The 15-year-old boy who was hit in the head with a bullet initially was in critical condition.

A review of shootings nationwide by The Associated Press and USA TODAY Network found that at least 141 deaths of minors were attributed to unintentional or accidental shootings in 2015.

— with the Associated Press