Suspect’s arrest puts Johnson Elementary on lockdown
Johnson Elementary School, 650 Stonewall, was put on lockdown for about an hour and a half Wednesday morning as Grand Prairie Police SWAT team negotiated the surrender of a suspect who fled into her home, across the street from the school.
The incident began around 8:15 a.m. when police were called to an auto-pedestrian accident at Gregory and Grenoble. There police learned the victim, Jennifer Meza, had been struck by a car driven by her mother, Gloria Barreda.
Meza, who suffered a broken leg and wrist, was struck while trying to prevent her mother from taking her three year-old nephew from her home.
At one point during the dispute, Barreda rammed another car twice that was also trying to block her from leaving with the child.
Barreda fled with the three year-old and managed to get to her home on Stonewall. There, a witness was able to get the three year-old safely out of the house.
Initially, Barreda refused to come out of her house and police had to call in its SWAT team.
The team's negotiators talked Barreda into peacefully surrendering around 11:30 a.m.
Grand Prairie police spokesman Detective John Brimmer said along with the assault of Meza, Barreda will be charged with endangering a child because the three year-old was in her car while she rammed the other car.
Editor's note: The original article said Meza's child was involved and a family member removed this child from the suspect's home. The Grand Prairie Reporter was given inacurate information and this article has been corrected.
