Texas teen gets 35 years for fatal stabbing at track meet

A Texas jury handed Karmelo Anthony a 35-year prison sentence for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Frisco, bringing a wrenching school-day killing into the criminal system and into a wider debate over juvenile violence, intent and accountability. Anthony was 17 when the confrontation turned deadly. Metcalf, also 17, died at the scene.

The violence erupted at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at a track meet in the 6900 block of Stadium Lane in Frisco. Police said the incident began as an altercation between two students. Frisco police and firefighters rushed in, and lifesaving efforts included CPR and the administration of blood, but the victim did not survive. Investigators later said there was no further threat to the public.

The case moved quickly beyond a local tragedy. Frisco police chief David Shilson called the killing a “senseless act of violence” and urged prayers for the families affected. The episode resonated far outside the Dallas suburb, where it became a racial flashpoint and a broader test of how schools, prosecutors and jurors should respond when a teenager kills another teenager in a public setting meant for competition, not conflict.

Prosecutors argued that the stabbing was murder, not self-defense, and pressed jurors to reject the idea that Anthony had been forced to act. The defense countered that Anthony was protecting himself. After about two hours and 20 minutes of deliberation, the jury rejected the self-defense claim and convicted Anthony of murder before recommending the 35-year sentence.

The punishment carries long-term consequences for a case that began with two students in the same fast-growing Frisco Independent School District, with Metcalf at Memorial High School and Anthony at Centennial High School. According to reporting, the sentence means Anthony will be eligible for parole only after serving half the term. Anthony filed a notice of appeal the day after sentencing, setting up the next phase of a case that has already shaped public discussion about how school-related killings by teens should be charged, tried and punished.