The father of a teenager charged with murdering another teen at a high school track meet in Texas is claiming his son is being misunderstood.
Andrew Anthony, the father of 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, told the New York Post in an interview published Thursday that his son was not the instigator of the fight that led to the death of Austin Metcalf, also 17.
“He was not the aggressor,” Anthony told the Post. “He was not the one who started it.”
It’s an argument the suspect made at the time of his arrest, according to reports.
The stabbing took place at a stadium in Frisco, Texas, about 30 miles north of Dallas.
Both teens were competing in the meet with their schools, according to the U.S. Sun. According to ABC News, Anthony attended Frisco Centennial High; Austin attended Frisco Memorial High.
They did not know each other, according to news reports.
The two began arguing when Anthony went into the pop-up tent being used by Metcalf’s school’s team during a rain delay, according to The Dallas Morning News.
On Thursday, KXAS-TV in Fort Worth reported that an arrest affidavit released by the Frisco police stated that Karmelo Anthony admitted he was the one who stabbed Metcalf, but claimed he was only reacting.
“I was protecting myself,” Anthony told a police officer, according to KXAS. “He put his hands on me.”
But witness statements cited in the KXAS report tell a more complicated story.
One witness told police, according to the station, that Anthony was carrying a bag. He “unzipped his bag, reached in, and then told Metcalf, ‘Touch me and see what happens,’” according to the report.
At some point, the police report stated, according to KXAS, “Austin grabbed Anthony to tell him to move and Anthony pulled out … a black knife and stabbed Austin once in the chest.”
When he was arrested, Anthony asked one officer if the stabbing could be considered self-defense, according to KXAS. He also asked if Metcalf was going to survive, the station reported.
As tragic as the death of any teenager is, but especially one in a high-school dispute, Metcalf’s was made even more wrenching by the fact that he was with his twin brother, Hunter, who held him in his arms as he died.
In an interview with KXAS published Wednesday, the Metcalf twins’ father, Jeff Metcalf, had some hard questions about the suspect’s upbringing.
“I’m not trying to judge, but what kind of parents did this child have? What was he taught? He brought a knife to a track meet and he murdered my son by stabbing him in the heart,” he said.
“This is murder.”
Andrew Anthony told the Post that Karmelo Anthony is not the person the public thinks. He said the teen has two jobs and a 3.7 GPA.
“Everyone has already made their assumptions about my son, but he’s not what they’re making him out to be,” he said.
Charged with murder, Karmelo Anthony is facing a sentence ranging from five years to 99 years in prison, according to KXAS.
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