The father of Austin Metcalf, the teenager killed after being stabbed in the heart at a high school track meet, has made a desperate plea.
Metcalf’s death made headlines around the world after the 17-year-old was knifed during an altercation at a track and field championship at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas on April 2.
18-year-old Karmelo Anthony was arrested and charged with first-degree murder following the incident, said to have been caused by an argument over seats in the stands.
Austin and his alleged killer had reportedly never met each other prior to the fatal encounter. Witnesses claimed that Austin confronted Karmelo, who attends another school, for sitting in Frisco Memorial High School’s tent in the stands, telling him to move.
Austin’s twin brother, Hunter, who was also there, told WFAA: “And my brother stepped in and said, ‘You need to move. And he’s like, ‘Make me move.’”
Anthony, it’s alleged, then grabbed up his backpack and pulled out a knife. He proceeded to stab Austin in the chest.
Karmelo is currently being held on house arrest, having posted bond on April 14. The teen has been fitted with an ankle monitor as he awaits trial.
According to recent reports, Austin father, Jeffrey Metcalf, has now filed a formal complaint regarding Centennial High School awarding Anthony his diploma in the wake of Austin’s death.
Dominque Alexander, Anthony’s spokesperson, told the Daily Mail that a complaint had been lodged.
“Now you have a father filing a complaint to the TEA [Texas Education Agency],” he said.
The suspected murderer will receive his high school diploma, though the Mail report that he is not expected to be involved in any graduation ceremony or walk on the stage at Frisco Independent School District.
“We are in arrangements of doing an early gradation. They have agreed to allow him to graduate. They were literally trying to expel him – period,” Alexander said last week.
Last month, Jeffrey Metcalf showed up at a press conference for his son’s alleged killer. Anthony’s family have suggested they plan to fight their son’s murder charge, insisting that he acted in self-defense after Austin attacked him.
Jeff was escorted from the press conference by police, and stated his belief that Anthony’s family had missed an opportunity.
“They should have pulled me up [to the front] and said, ‘We are so sorry. Our condolences.’ The only thing I would have said was, ‘Okay, can we pray together and show the world we’re united’,” he told the New York Post.