McKinney, Texas
A 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed by a competitor in a “sneak, surprise attack” at a Texas excessive school monitor meet, a prosecutor informed jurors Thursday, as trial opened in a case that surprised an prosperous Dallas suburb the place the pair attended school.
The demise final yr rapidly drew wider consideration, partially as a result of of social media posts that amplified the case in racial phrases. The accused, Karmelo Anthony, now 19, is Black, whereas the sufferer, Austin Metcalf, was white.
Anthony informed police he was defending himself when the 2 bought right into a confrontation throughout a monitor meet in Frisco, a booming metropolis in Dallas’ sprawling north suburbs, in line with an arrest report.
But prosecutor Bill Wirskye informed jurors it was a “senseless murder” and never a case of self-defense.
The jury was seated this week underneath elevated safety at a Collin County courthouse and a choose has set strict guidelines over the proceedings, together with prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case publicly.
The stabbing occurred on a wet morning in April 2025. Witnesses informed police the confrontation started when Anthony sat underneath a tent belonging to Metcalf’s crew, in line with an arrest report. The teenagers went to totally different excessive colleges in Frisco.
When Metcalf informed Anthony that he wanted to maneuver, Anthony reached inside his bag and allegedly replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” the report stated.
In his opening remarks, protection legal professional Mike Howard stated Metcalf made the primary contact.
“In that split second, Melo has a decision to make: how and when to act. Self-defense is useless if you wait too late to defend yourself. … He reacts in a split second of fear, chaos,” Howard stated.
Metcalf was stabbed within the chest. Anthony faces as much as life in jail if convicted of murder.
The mother and father of each teenagers have stated they have been good college students who deliberate to go to school. Metcalf’s father has condemned those that seized on the race of the youngsters after the killing.
“This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened,” Jeff Metcalf stated on Fox News’ “America Reports.”
“This is a human being thing,” he stated. “This person made a bad choice and it affected both his family and my family forever.”
Authorities have additionally issued warnings about on-line discussions surrounding the killing. Frisco Police Chief David Shilson has urged individuals to beware of posts spreading “misinformation, hate, fear, and division.”