Behind the Badge
Police arrested without incident a 30-year-old parolee who ran onto the campus of a Garden Grove preschool Friday morning, entered an unoccupied classroom and brandished a knife at a teacher.
No students were threatened or injured during the incident, according to a news release issued by the Garden Grove PD.
Gonzalo Parra Jr., 30, is in custody at Orange County Jail in Santa Ana after being booked on suspicion of possessing a weapon on school grounds and brandishing a deadly weapon, police said.
He also is being held on a parole violation for a drug conviction.
At around 8:45 a.m. Friday, Garden Grove police were sent to Garden Grove 1st Pre-school, at 8461 Garden Grove Blvd, regarding a subject on campus with a knife.
Witnesses reported seeing the subject, later identified as Parra Jr., running onto school grounds and entering an unoccupied classroom.
A teacher attempted to tell Parra Jr. to leave, but he brandished the knife and then closed the door to the room behind him, according to the news release.
Officers arrived and found Parra Jr. alone in the classroom armed with a 12-inch kitchen knife.
“When contacted by the police, Parra Jr. complied with commands and was taken into custody without incident,” the news release said.
