In the wake of last week's shocking fatal stabbing of a star athlete at Texas high school track meet, the family of the admitted killer has rapidly raked in more than $140,000 in an online fundraiser, with donors attaching defiant messages describing the killer as the victim of racism and bullying.
On Thursday, 17-year-old multi-sport athlete Austin Metcalf was stabbed in the heart in an incident that occurred in his Frisco Memorial High School team tent, at a district UIL meet being held at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas. According to the statements given to police by witnesses, the trouble began when Metcalf told 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony of Centennial High School that he was in the wrong area of the stadium and should leave.
Anthony is said to have grabbed his bag and opened it before saying, "Touch me and see what happens." Per witnesses' varying characterizations, Metcalf either touched, grabbed or pushed Anthony, who suddenly produced a knife and delivered a single fatal stab to the chest before running off. According to the arrest report, Anthony admitted to stabbing Metcalf because "he put his hand on me, I told him not to" and asked if his action could be construed as self-defense. Anthony was charged with first-degree murder with a $1 million bond necessary to spring him from confinement.
Anthony's family quickly launched a donation site for the "Help Karmelo Official Fund." On a page hosted on GiveSendGo, the family wrote, "This is the Official Support Fund for Karmelo and his family during this challenging and difficult time. The narrative being spread is false, unjust and harmful." As this is written, 3,927 donors from across the country have chipped in $141,037. The initial goal of $100,000 has been doubled to $200,000.
Along with their contributions, many wrote defiant messages like these:
- "I am very proud of this young man defending his God giving [sic] right, and slaying Evil. He needs to be released immediately this REAL AMERICAN HERO"
- "EVERBODY [sic] deserves to be able to protect themselves, REGARDLESS of skin color!"
- "We are being presecuted [sic] for defending ourselves"
- "This poor kid was defending himself against racist bullies."
- "Stop using anti-Black racist, white supremacist media to target Black Americans"
- "Don't start no stuff, won't be no stuff"
- "It was not your fault baby boy"
- "Foundational Black American[s] are with you"
- "Stop targeting Black Americans with violence, terrorism and murder"
Anthony's lawyer has already said his client will plead self-defense. Anthony's statement that he stabbed Metcalf in the heart because "he put his hand on me" will make that defense difficult. It doesn't paint a picture of someone reasonably fearing death or major bodily harm. To the contrary, a jury may conclude that Anthony, yielding to impulse, used deadly force merely to defend himself from being "dissed."
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe fundraiser initiated by the father of the slain star athlete -- titled "Honoring Austin Metcalf: Help His Family Heal" -- has raised over $250,000 from more 4,900 donors. "He was a bright young man with a great future ahead of him," his father wrote. "Voted team MVP this past season and carried a 4.0 GPA. He was looking forward to taking his game to the next level. His commitment, dedication, leadership, and sheer grit made him rise to the level of success that he desired."
Metcalf's twin brother was under the team tent as the sudden mid-morning horror unfolded. "I put my hand on there, tried to make [the bleeding] stop," Hunter Metcalf told Fox News. "I grabbed his head and I looked in his eyes. I just saw his soul leave, and it took my soul, too."
