Fatal Stabbing at High School Track Meet Sparks National Attention and Heated Discourse
In the days since a fatal stabbing at a high school track meet in Frisco, the case has drawn national attention and ignited heated discourse online, thrusting two teenage athletes in the Dallas suburb — and their families — into the spotlight.
Speculation about what happened under a pop-up canopy on the morning of April 2 as rain-filled clouds moved over the sporting event intensified in the days afterward. Fundraisers for the two teenagers have drawn hundreds of thousands of dollars. Disinformation social media posts impersonating local authorities have become the subject of a criminal investigation, and police say they are also working with the families to ensure their safety.
Frisco ISD’s superintendent and the city’s police chief, among other local leaders, have described some of the online discourse surrounding the case as attempts to divide their city.
“Fake social media profiles, false accusations and fraudulent fundraising campaigns are being used to sow division and profit from tragedy,” Frisco ISD Superintendent Mike Waldrip wrote in an email to the community Wednesday, one week after the fatal stabbing at David Kuykendall Stadium. “Let me be clear: Frisco ISD will not tolerate misinformation, manipulation or any attempt to undermine our community.”
Crime in The News
David Kuykendall Stadium is seen, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Frisco. (Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
Frisco police say Memorial High School junior Austin Metcalf, 17, died of his injuries on April 2. Officers arrested Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old Centennial High School student also attending the track meet, in connection with the death. Anthony told police he was acting in self-defense, an officer wrote in a police report obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
The investigation is in its early stages. Police have not indicated that race was a factor in the case, nor did the responding officers whose accounts were included in the police report reviewed by The News, but much of the discourse online has unfolded along racial lines. Metcalf is white. Anthony is Black.
Anthony faces a murder charge and remained in the Collin County jail Friday in lieu of a $1 million bond, according to jail records. His family has offered condolences to Metcalf’s loved ones and called for the public’s patience as their legal team works to “seek the truth” through the courts.
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The Impact of Social Media on the Case
The focus on race by activists and commentators may reflect an effort to make up for the lack of information typically released in the early days of a criminal investigation, said Timothy Bray, a criminologist and professor of practice at the University of Texas at Dallas.
“We are not in a post-racial society by any sense, and we still have a lot of sensitivities around perceptions of who’s the victim and who’s the perpetrator,” Bray said, adding many posts on social media he had seen ranged from having racial overtones to explicit racial comments. “I think that serves to continue to amplify that. It gets louder and louder and louder, not necessarily by the merits of the case itself, but by the volume of the rhetoric going around.”
Among those calling for less speculation was Metcalf’s father, who went on a Fox News program the day after his son’s death to discuss the case. He described Anthony as someone who “made a bad choice” that had rocked both families and would change their lives forever.
“I want to clarify something right off to start because I’ve already heard some rumors and gossip,” Jeff Metcalf said shortly into the interview. “This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened.”
A memorial service for Metcalf was planned for Saturday morning at Hope Fellowship Frisco East. A court hearing where Anthony’s attorneys will argue for a bond reduction is scheduled for Monday.
Civil Rights Organization Gets Involved
The case drew the attention of Next Generation Action Network, a civil rights organization based in Dallas. One of Anthony’s attorneys, Kim T. Cole, has worked as the nonprofit’s general counsel. Frisco police met with leaders of the organization, including the nonprofit’s president, Dominique Alexander, after he contacted police to raise concerns about the case and the Anthony family’s safety.
Dominique Alexander, founder of Next Generation Action Network, speaks to reporters about the Karmelo Anthony case following a meeting with Frisco Deputy Chief of Police Jon Skertich and Assistant Chief of Police Darren Stevens at Good Coworking in Dallas on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Anthony was taken into custody and faces a murder charge for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf last week.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
