At a packed high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, a seating dispute turned deadly, leaving one student dead and another charged with murder. What unfolded in mere seconds has now shaken an entire community, with grieving loved ones and officials left searching for answers.
During a routine district track and field event involving multiple Frisco high schools, tragedy struck shortly after 10 a.m. A high school student was fatally stabbed, an incident that has since been pieced together through eyewitness accounts, official reports, and family testimonies.
The shocking altercation, witnesses say, lasted less than 30 seconds. As investigators continue to gather statements, unanswered questions persist: What could have triggered such abrupt violence, and could it have been prevented? The details that follow paint a chilling picture of what transpired that morning.
The Fatal Altercation
On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the bleachers at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas, were filled with students competing in the 11-5A district track meet. The event brought together more than a hundred student-athletes from eight Frisco Independent School District high schools, including Memorial High School and Centennial High School.
The bleachers at Kuykendall Stadium, where Austin Metcalf was stabbed dated, April 9, 2025 | Source: YouTube/@InsideEdition
Under the tent reserved for Memorial High athletes, an interaction began between Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial, and Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old student from Centennial. Witnesses told police that Karmelo, dressed in a Centennial tracksuit, sat in the wrong tent, and Austin told him to leave.
According to the police report, Karmelo opened his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens.” Statements from multiple students indicated that Austin either touched or attempted to move Karmelo. In the next moment, Karmelo allegedly pulled a knife from his bag and stabbed Austin once in the chest.
The track field at Kuykendall Stadium dated, April 9, 2025 | Source: YouTube/@InsideEdition
Witnesses said he then fled from the tent area. A black knife with blood on it was later recovered by officers in the bleachers. Coaches and certified athletic trainers responded immediately, performing CPR and administering blood while waiting for emergency services.
Austin was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:53 a.m. According to the official arrest report, the entire altercation, from the verbal exchange to the stabbing, lasted less than 30 seconds.
Police noted that more than 30 students and half a dozen coaches from five schools were listed as witnesses, many of whom provided statements on-site.
Karmelo Anthony, the alleged stabber, dated April 9, 2025 | Source: YouTube/@InsideEdition
The Arrest and Suspect’s Statements to Police
Minutes after the stabbing, a Frisco school resource officer located Karmelo near the stadium. He matched the descriptions provided by several student witnesses. According to the police report, officers noted blood on his left middle finger and ordered him to raise his hands. He complied.
Before officers asked any questions, Karmelo began making spontaneous statements. “I was protecting myself,” he said. When one officer radioed that he had the alleged suspect, Karmelo reportedly responded, “I’m not alleged, I did it.”
As he was walked to a patrol car, he added, “He put his hands on me. I told him not to.” Witnesses at the scene described him as “crying hysterically.” Officers described him as visibly shaken during the arrest. Once in the back seat of the squad car, Karmelo asked if the victim was “going to be OK.”
He then asked officers if the stabbing could be considered “self-defense.” Another officer reported that Karmelo appeared emotional throughout the interaction and repeated several of these statements without being prompted. He was transported to the Frisco City Jail and later transferred to the Collin County Jail.
The Family’s Immediate Response
Austin’s mother, Meagan Metcalf, was at work in Grapevine when she received a phone call from her son Hunter. “He was screaming that Austin had been stabbed,” she said in a televised interview. She drove straight to the hospital and arrived before the ambulance.
Meagan Metcalf speaks during an interview, dated on April 3, 2025 | Source: YouTube/wfaa
“I saw them have him come out,” she recalled. “He was on a lot of machines, and it didn’t take long for them to come in to say that he had passed.” Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, said Hunter had witnessed the stabbing and tried to save his brother’s life.
“[Hunter] was holding his hands on the hole trying to save his life,” Jeff told CBS News Texas. “He told me, ‘I looked at him, his eyes — he was gone, he wasn’t breathing.’” According to Meagan, CPR was performed after Austin was unresponsive for about five minutes.
