Karmelo Anthony dealt FOUR hammer blows as witnesses trash claim Austin Metcalf, 17, shoved teen killer who claims he only knifed athlete to death in self-defense

By MARYANN MARTINEZ, US TEXAS BUREAU CHIEF and STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER and RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and KATRINA SCHOLLENBERGER, US HEAD OF LIVE NEWS Published: 01:46, 6 June 2026 | Updated: 01:47, 6 June 2026 Multiple witnesses trashed Karmelo Anthony's claim that he acted in self-defense when he stabbed Austin Metcalf on the witness stand Friday.  On Thursday, an attorney for Anthony said his client did not instigate the fight with Metcalf, telling the jury at the start of a packed murder trial near Dallas that it was instead an act of self-defense.  However, a series of witnesses, many of them teammates of either Anthony or Metcalf, appeared to contradict the defense on Friday.  A 17-year-old boy who was on the track team with Metcalf at Memorial High School took the stand Friday afternoon. The teen claimed that several people confronted Anthony and told him to leave the tent on the afternoon of the stabbing. 'I remember it getting more aggressive,' the teen said. 'I remember Karmelo refusing to leave. Then Austin asked him to leave.' That is when Anthony said, 'Touch me and find out,' the boy recalled. He claimed Anthony was asked to leave about 15 times by Metcalf and several others. Multiple witnesses trashed Karmelo Anthony's claim that he acted in self-defense when he stabbed Austin Metcalf on the witness stand Friday. Pictured: A courtroom sketch of Anthony with his legal team On Thursday, an attorney for Anthony said his client did not instigate the fight with Metcalf, telling the jury at the start of a packed murder trial near Dallas that it was instead an act of self-defense The boy said no one ganged up on Anthony, and he didn't think a fight was going to break out. He thought it was 'minor pushing at most.' The teen said this went on for two minutes and added that both Metcalf and Anthony were angry at this point. He claimed that Anthony was provoking Metcalf. Metcalf pushed Anthony, and then Anthony stabbed Metcalf, the teen testified. After Anthony stabbed Metcalf in retaliation, he threw the knife up the bleachers and ran away. The young witness says he did not expect the stabbing to occur. 'Austin fell onto the bleacher onto this back. And then he got up and went against the fence and guard rail and his chest was all bloody,' he explained. 'I think he said, "oh my god."' Prosecutors asked the boy how hard Metcalf pushed Anthony, to which he explained that it was 'somewhere in between a light shove and a hard shove.' He confirmed that Austin's brother Hunter was at the bottom of the tent at the time of the incident and that no others ganged up on Anthony. The witness called the ambulance shortly after the knifing. 911 audio was played to the court where he can be heard saying 'my friend's bleeding everywhere.' However, a series of witnesses, many of them teammates of either Anthony or Metcalf (pictured), appeared to contradict the defense on Friday Austin Metcalf was attending a track and field championship between other area schools at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas A second teammate called to the stand said that Anthony seemed to want a fight.  He recounted that Metcalf asked Anthony to leave, adding that Metcalf was initially not upset. The back-and-forth between the two boys started, and then 'things got more serious,' the teammate said. Anthony wasn't even looking at Metcalf. 'He already knew what he was going to do,' the second teen said. He said the stabbing happened so quickly that he didn't even realize it had happened, and he was sitting right next to Anthony. 'I just remember being in shock and not really knowing where to go,' he said. The court has ordered the media not to identify minors who testify during the trial. The state then called on a third 17-year-old boy who was one of the many Memorial High School students under the tent when Anthony stabbed Metcalf. Multiple witnesses testified that Anthony did not act in self-defense Metcalf, pictured with his twin brother, allegedly did not provoke Anthony 'I don't know why because it could have been as easy as him leaving our tent but it escalated into someone getting stabbed,' the teen boy says when asked about the tension under the tent. A fourth witness testified that Anthony attempted to provoke Metcalf who responded: 'I'm not going to fight you at a track meet, dude.' The teen then offered a demonstration of how the shove happened between Metcalf and Anthony. A student at Liberty High School - whose tent was next to the Memorial High tent - who graduated a few weeks ago, said she heard Anthony tell Metcalf: 'If you wanted me to move, you would have to move me.' She felt a fight was inevitable but that Metcalf did not appear to want to fight during direct examination. The teenager, who was emotional and in tears on the stand, then heard a noise and looked over to see Metcalf stabbed in the chest. Memorial High School students then ran off, crying of the incident that had just taken place, she claimed. She was also clear minded that the stabbing had nothing to do with race, having directly answered a question on the subject. She didn't want the case to become about that. Supporters for Karmelo Anthony demonstrate in front of the Collin County courthouse Thursday A sixth teen witness called to the stand, a 17 year old boy, said Anthony told Metcalf: 'Touch me, and see what happens.' The student said he directly told Metcalf not to touch Anthony and saw something that made him fear for Metcalf. 'The vein in his arm was visible. It looked like he was grabbing something,' the student said of Anthony, despite his hand being in his backpack. Ultimately, the teen said that Metcalf 'was a bigger guy and he tried to be nice about it.' That witness testified that as far as he knows, Metcalf and Anthony did not know each other and had not competed before the day of the stabbing.  A previous version of events told by the defense claimed that Anthony stabbed Metcalf out of fear during the confrontation where Metcalf made the first physical contact. Anthony was seen laughing with his legal team as trial proceedings ended for the day. Anthony (pictured) leaving the court on Thursday The teenager, who remained largely stoic throughout the trial so far, chuckled alongside his lawyers and tossed a water bottle around as people started to leave the courtroom. The trial will resume tomorrow morning. It all came during a tense day at the courthouse.   At least three people were removed from the Collin County courthouse ahead of the Karmelo Anthony trial on Friday. One person was a woman who directed harsh words at a sheriff’s deputy, and the second was a blogger from North Carolina who was removed for allegedly calling a deputy a racial slur, NBC News reported. A third person was kicked out after they allegedly violated courthouse protocols prohibiting cell phone use and recording in the building. A video shared on social media shows a woman who had been removed from the courthouse claiming 'they won't even give me my purse.' Anthony, now 19, is standing trial for Metcalf's murder and has maintained that he acted in self-defense during the deadly folding knife attack at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025. The two teenagers, both 17 at the time, became embroiled in a dispute over seating at the Memorial High School athletics meet. Prosecutors contend the stabbing was an unjustified 'sneak attack,' while the defense argues Anthony feared for his safety. The trial, which is expected to last about two weeks, has drawn significant political scrutiny, with racially charged demonstrations calling for Anthony to 'walk free.' A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected after roughly 600 prospective jurors were questioned during a selection process that began Monday. No black jurors were seated on the final jury. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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