Texas teen sentenced to 35 years for killing fellow student at track meet

The fatal incident during a high school athletics event in a Dallas suburb drew national attention.

A Texas jury sentenced 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony on Tuesday evening to 35 years in prison for the murder of Austin Metcalf, 17, last April at a high school track meet in which they were competing. Witnesses testified during the week-long trial north of Dallas that the two teens clashed after Anthony took shelter under Metcalf’s team tent. Anthony pulled a knife and later confessed to law enforcement, although he and his attorney insisted it was self-defense. The trial became a flash point for white supremacists who fixated on the racial differences of Metcalf, who was White, and Anthony, who is Black. Early on in the case, Metcalf’s father disavowed their involvement. The jury deliberated for about three hours before finding Anthony guilty Tuesday and returning to deliberate his sentence. He faced up to life in prison but not the death penalty because of his age at the time of the stabbing. The case came amid escalating racial tensions in Frisco, a city of about 250,000 that has experienced rapid growth in recent years, much of it from South Asia. The diversification has angered right-wing activists who have flocked to city council meetings to share racist and anti-immigrant views that garnered millions of views online. The rhetoric has been exacerbated by the city’s first competitive mayoral election in almost a decade. One of the activists, Florida-based Jake Lang, appeared recently outside the courthouse, where he called for Anthony to be “lynched.”

A Texas teenager, Karmelo Anthony, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in McKinney, Texas. The incident occurred during a confrontation in April 2025 when Anthony, then 18, refused to leave a team tent belonging to Metcalf’s squad, leading to a heated exchange. Witnesses, mostly students, testified that Anthony was the aggressor and ignored several requests to leave before stabbing Metcalf in the chest after being shoved. Anthony claimed self-defense, but the jury rejected that argument after deliberating for less than three hours, also declining the lesser charge of manslaughter. The case gained widespread attention, amplified by social media discussions that framed the incident in racial terms—Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white—though both legal teams and Metcalf's father emphasized that race was not a factor. The trial was held under heavy security and attracted significant public interest. Both teens were students from Frisco and had plans for college. During sentencing, Anthony's mother expressed remorse on his behalf, while Metcalf’s grieving father criticized Anthony’s actions and choices.