Track Meet Stabbing Suspect Told Cops He Was 'Protecting Himself'

UPDATE Apr 7, 2025 12:30 AM CDT

The 17-year-old suspected of fatally stabbing another 17-year-old at a Texas high school track meet allegedly confessed multiple times to police that he was responsible for the stabbing, ABC News reports. Karmelo Anthony allegedly told police, "He put his hands on me, I told him not to," and "I was protecting myself." He also allegedly asked police at one point if the stabbing "could be considered self-defense," according to the arrest report, which says he was "emotional" and "crying hysterically" as he was being taken away, and that he asked if the victim would be OK. Witnesses say Austin Metcalf told Anthony to move because he was under their team's tent but he was not a member of their team, and that angry words were exchanged. Metcalf then apparently grabbed or pushed Anthony to get him to move, which is when the stabbing occurred.

Apr 3, 2025 1:00 AM CDT

A 17-year-old student was fatally stabbed by another student during an altercation at a high school track meet in suburban Dallas on Wednesday, police said. The suspect, 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, was taken into custody and charged with murder, according to police in Frisco, about 30 miles north of Dallas. The AP reports that the student who was killed was Austin Metcalf, an 11th-grader at Memorial High School, according to an email the principal sent to parents Wednesday. Police said they were called to Kuykendall Stadium around 10am because of an altercation between two students.

The stabbing happened at the University Interscholastic League's District 11-5A championship track meet, WFAA. The Frisco Independent School District said student athletes from eight of the district's 12 schools were competing. Jeff Metcalf told NBC5 that his son was stabbed by a student angry about being told he was in the wrong spot. He said Austin's twin brother Hunter saw the stabbing and tried to stop the bleeding. "They were twins, identical twins, and his brother was holding onto him, trying to make it stop bleeding, and he died in his brother's arms."

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"I'm not trying to judge, but what kind of parents did this child have? What was he taught? He brought a knife to a track meet and he murdered my son by stabbing him in the heart. The guy was in the wrong place and they asked him to move ... This is murder," Jeff Metcalf said. He added: "You know what, I already forgive this person. Already. God takes care of things. God is going to take care of me. God is going to take care of my family." (More Texas stories.)