On April 2nd, 2025, a tragedy had occured at the District 11-5A Track meet which was hosted at David Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco,Texas. According to witnesses, Austin Metcalf and Karmelo Anthony had gotten into a verbal disagreement, fighting over a seat, which resulted in Karmelo Anthony to attack Austin Metcalf, stabbing him with a knife in the heart and running, which resulted in Austin bleeding out within an hour in his twin brother’s arms.
Paramedics pronounced him dead soon afterwards. When officers arrived at the scene and said they had an alleged suspect, Karmelo Anthony responded saying, “I’m not alleged, I did it,” according to NBC.
All of this occurred in Frisco, Texas. Karmelo Anthony is being charged with First-degree Murder, which could result in life in prison or even the Death Penalty. While he is 17, he is being tried as an adult under Texas’s “Concurrent Jurisdiction” laws, which often allows prosecutors to to charge minors without judicial oversight.
Investigators spoke to several different witnesses, including the ones that were near the incident that had occured, stating “Anthony grabbed his bag, opened it and reached inside and proceeded to tell [Metcalf], ‘Touch me and see what happens,’” the affidavit read.
While his bail was set at $1 Million, after a bond hearing on Monday, it was reduced all the way down to $250,000. Some of the conditions of his bond release require him to wear an ankle monitor, and is not allowed to leave his house without the permission of a judge.
Shortly after, he was released after posting the new lowered bond amount, which has sparked outrage and backlash against Collin County Judge Angela Tucker and the Karmelo’s family.
While hosting a press conference on Thursday, the father of Austin Metcalf had shown up, coming to show support and represent Austin in response to the many rumors surrounding the killing. One of those rumors was that Austin Metcalf had bullied Karmelo Anthony beforehand, but that has been debunked by investigators as the two had never met before the track meet.
He was escorted out by police soon after arriving, with people saying it was “disrespectful” for him to show up.
“This is my point: We’re both victims. My son’s dead. Their son will be in prison. But it’s sick at the end of the day, Karmelo needs to be accountable for his actions,’ Jeff Metcalf stated to The Daily Mail
Protests and posters have emerged in honor of Metcalf, with them advocating “Justice for Austin Metcalf” and even going as far as “Stop Black Violence on White Americans.” While the father is against this, calling them race baiters. Currently, Karmelo Anthony is awaiting trial in which, if convicted, could face a life sentence in prison under Texas law.
Written by Marco Padilla, Staff Writer