Killing of Austin Metcalf

On April 2, 2025, 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, an American student at Memorial High School, was fatally stabbed while attending a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, United States. He died of his injuries at the scene.

A Centennial High School student was arrested in connection with the stabbing and charged with first-degree murder. On April 14, 2025, he was placed on a house arrest with an ankle monitor.

The stabbing occurred at the Memorial High School tent in the stadium at approximately 10 a.m. on April 2, 2025. The altercation started when Metcalf told the accused to move out from the Memorial team's tent. A verbal argument between them ensued. During the argument, the accused told Metcalf: "Touch me and see what happens" while reaching his hand into his backpack. Metcalf grabbed the other party and asked him to leave the tent again; in response, the accused said "punch me and see what happens", then pulled out a black knife from the backpack and stabbed him once in the chest before running away. The bloody knife was later found by police in the bleachers. After being stabbed, Austin grabbed his chest and told everyone to get help. When police arrived, he was not conscious or breathing. Multiple athletic trainers were performing CPR on him. Despite the efforts of his brother, responding EMTs and other people to revive him, Austin Metcalf was pronounced dead minutes after arriving in the hospital.^[1][2][3]

The accused was shortly arrested by police. According to a responding officer, the accused was "emotional" and "crying hysterically" after he was arrested. The officer then communicated to others that he had the alleged suspect in custody, to which the accused said, "I'm not 'alleged.' I did it." As he was being escorted to the police car, the accused reportedly said: "He put his hands on me, I told him not to". While he was sitting at the back seat of the police car, he asked if Metcalf is "going to be ok" and reportedly asked the officer if what he did was considered self-defense.^[4][3]

The accused was charged with first-degree murder and transported to the Collin County jail.^[2] He was charged as an adult; under the Texas criminal justice system, defendants age 17 and older are prosecuted as adults.^[5]

On April 14, 2025, the judge agreed to release the accused from jail, citing his clean criminal record and background in academics and athletics. He was placed under house arrest with an ankle monitor; his bond had also been lowered from $1 million to $250,000.^[6][7] According to the conditions of his release, he must be supervised by a parent or an adult at all times; he is also required to contact the judge’s bailiff every Friday morning. He is prohibited from using social media and is banned from contacting the family of Austin Metcalf.^[8] The accused's lawyer, Mike Howard, said that he would plead not guilty and claim self-defense at his future trial.^[9] According to Collin County district attorney Greg Willis, the accused will not be eligible to be sentenced to life without parole or death penalty if convicted of murder because he is a juvenile. The accused's bond hearing is scheduled for April 28, on 10:00 a.m.^[10]

The accused's family set up a crowdfunding campaign on GiveSendGo to pay for legal defense and raised over $453,000 in donations by April 17.^[11] They has received significant financial support from the Black community.^[12] GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns were launched by Metcalf's father and the owner of the pizzeria in Frisco where Metcalf worked part-time, raising nearly $250,000.^[13]

Accord to the Next Generation Action Network (NGAN), the accused was moved to an "undisclosed location" after his release from jail following an "alarming increase in death threats, continued harassment, and physical intimidation" targeted at him and his family's home.^[14][15] Reportedly, various strangers have visited the accused's family home, took photos of their property, loitered and impersonated food delivery drivers. The family has also received concerning material in the mail, including Metcalf's obituary.^[16][15] Father of the accused, Andrew Anthony, was forced to resign from his job because of the doxing and harassment targeting his employer on social media.^[17][18] Angela Tucker, the judge who lowered the accused's bond to $250,000, has been doxed and received multiple threats from unknown people. The FBI is reportedly investigating the incident.^[19][20]

The case has garnered widespread attention on social media and right-wing news media, becoming a right-wing cause célèbre.^[21] Misinformation about the case has been promoted by supporters of Metcalf as well as by supporters of Anthony.^[22] The accused's mother stated that the family has received death threats.^[23] Both families have received swatting calls, resulting in SWAT teams coming to their homes.^[24]

On April 17, Metcalf's father attended a press conference hosted by the parents of the accused and the Next Generation Action Network, a nonprofit organization working with the accused's family. According to him, he thought that it would be "an opportunity for the two families to come together in a productive way". After 40 minutes of him being there, he was asked to leave by the organizers and then escorted out by Dallas police after being threatened with trespassing charges. NGAN founder, Dominique Alexander, said that the father's presence was "very disrespectful" to the "dignity of their son". He also said that he wasn't invited and him being near the accused's family is "inappropriate".^[25][26] A few hours after he was kicked out of the conference, gunshots were reported at Metcalf's family house. The call was later confirmed to be a swatting. According to the father, approximately 20 officers searched his residence.^[27][28]

The family of the accused was attacked by online critics after a news report from Daily Mail falsely claimed that he is living in a "luxurious" $900,000 house with his family due to him taking thousands of dollars from donations.^[19] Later, it was proven that the claims were false and that the family had not withdrawn any money from donations.^[29]

Shortly after Metcalf's death, an X account impersonating Frisco Police Chief began spreading misinformation. The account posted a fake autopsy report that stated that Metcalf died from MDMA-fentanyl overdose. The post gained millions of views on X and other social media platforms. The Frisco Police Department and the FBI are investigating the account for police impersonation.^[30][31]

Some accounts on social media that support the accused, spread fake stories and conspiracy theories about Austin Metcalf being a while supremacist or about how media covers up the evidence to justify the stabbing as self-defense. Some internet rumors said that Metcalf was bullying the accused and that he punched him, justifying accused's actions.^[21][32]

The group Protect White Americans held a protest at the David Kuykendall Stadium, the place where Metcalf was stabbed, on April 19, 2025, to demand the accused be returned to police custody until his trial. Two counterprotesters were arrested at the protest: one who pepper-sprayed an attendee and another who antagonized attendees.^[33] Metcalf's father told the organizer of the protest that he disapproved of his efforts, stating, "You're trying to create more race divide than bridging the gap. I do not condone anything you do." Metcalf's father also requested that his son's school portrait be removed from the website for Protect White Americans.^[34]