{"id":323087,"date":"2026-06-04T21:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T21:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/323087\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T21:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T21:27:14","slug":"trial-opens-for-teen-accused-in-deadly-texas-track-meet-stabbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/323087\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial opens for teen accused in deadly Texas track meet stabbing"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JAMIE STENGLE<\/p>\n

MCKINNEY, Texas (AP) \u2014 A 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed<\/a> by a competitor in a \u201csneak, surprise attack\u201d at a Texas high school track meet, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday, as a trial opened in a case that stunned an affluent Dallas suburb where the pair attended school.<\/p>\n

Dozens of people lined up to get a seat in the Collin County courtroom. The death last year<\/a> quickly drew wide attention, in part because of social media posts that amplified the case in racial terms. The accused, Karmelo Anthony, now 19, is Black, while the victim, Austin Metcalf, was white.<\/p>\n

Anthony told police he was protecting himself when the two got into a confrontation during a track meet in Frisco, a booming city in Dallas\u2019 sprawling north suburbs, according to an arrest report.<\/p>\n

But prosecutor Bill Wirskye told jurors it was a \u201csenseless murder\u201d and not a case of self-defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t want a fight,\u201d Wirskye said of Metcalf.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A courtroom sketch, provided by Pat Lopez shows Karmelo Anthony, center, at the defense table, the jury on the left and the presiding judge on the right, on Thursday, June 4, 2026, in McKinney, Texas, during the trial of a teen accused of fatally stabbing another during a track meet in suburban Dallas last year. (Pat Lopez via AP)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Collin County courthouse is shown Thursday, June 4, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo\/Tony Gutierrez)\n<\/p>\n

\"Supporters<\/p>\n

Supporters for Karmelo Anthony demonstrate in front of the Collin County courthouse Thursday, June 4, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo\/Tony Gutierrez)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A courtroom sketch, provided by Pat Lopez shows Karmelo Anthony, center, at the defense table, the jury on the left and the presiding judge on the right, on Thursday, June 4, 2026, in McKinney, Texas, during the trial of a teen accused of fatally stabbing another during a track meet in suburban Dallas last year. (Pat Lopez via AP)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 4<\/p>\n

A courtroom sketch, provided by Pat Lopez shows Karmelo Anthony, center, at the defense table, the jury on the left and the presiding judge on the right, on Thursday, June 4, 2026, in McKinney, Texas, during the trial of a teen accused of fatally stabbing another during a track meet in suburban Dallas last year. (Pat Lopez via AP)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The jury was seated this week under increased security at the courthouse, and a judge has set strict rules over the proceedings, including prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case publicly.<\/p>\n

The stabbing happened on a rainy morning in April 2025. Witnesses told police the confrontation began when Anthony sat under a tent belonging to Metcalf\u2019s team, according to an arrest report. The teens went to different schools in Frisco.<\/p>\n

When Metcalf told Anthony that he needed to move, Anthony reached inside his bag and allegedly replied: \u201cTouch me and see what happens,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Robert Starr, a track coach at Memorial High School, where Metcalf was a student and athlete, explained to jurors that a tent at a track competition \u201cmarks your spot\u201d and is similar to a team bench in other sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just don\u2019t go into someone else\u2019s tent uninvited,\u201d Starr testified.<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, defense attorney Mike Howard said it was Metcalf who made the first contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 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. \u2026 He reacts in a split second of fear, chaos,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n

Starr told the jury that he rushed to the tent when he saw commotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see Austin on the ground and his face is purple, and he has a big hole in his chest,\u201d the coach said, choking up in the witness chair.<\/p>\n

Anthony faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder.<\/p>\n

Mark Porter, a forensic video analyst, guided jurors through video recorded at the track meet, including some images that were magnified.<\/p>\n

The parents of both teens have said they were good students who planned to go to college. Metcalf\u2019s father has condemned those who seized on the race of the teenagers after the killing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened,\u201d Jeff Metcalf said on Fox News\u2019 \u201cAmerica Reports.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a human being thing,\u201d he said. \u201cThis person made a bad choice and it affected both his family and my family forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authorities have also issued warnings about online discussions surrounding the killing. Frisco Police Chief David Shilson has urged people to beware of posts spreading \u201cmisinformation, hate, fear, and division.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By JAMIE STENGLE MCKINNEY, Texas (AP) \u2014 A 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed by a competitor in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[115271,115565,114711,636,7397,11798,27,29,28,115564,2128],"class_list":["post-323087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-austin-metcalf","tag-frisco-excerpt-trial-opens-for-teen-accused-of-stabbing-classmate-at-texas-high-school-track-meet","tag-karmelo-anthony","tag-murder","tag-self-defense","tag-stabbing","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-track-meet","tag-trial"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}