MILWAUKEE (AP) - It might not be unusual for schoolchildren to write to the president or vice-president. But one boy got an unexpectedly personal response.

The 7-year-old, second-grade student at Downtown Montessori Academy in Milwaukee wrote a letter to Vice-President Joe Biden and other officials a few months ago with a simple idea for making the world safer.

His teacher Jenny Aicher said his letter suggested that if guns shot chocolate bullets, no one would get hurt.

The student - and the rest of the school - got a surprise on Monday when Mr Biden's handwritten response arrived in the mail.

In the note, the vice-president said he agreed that chocolate bullets would make the country safer and happier.

The note concluded: "People love chocolate. You are a good boy."