A teen was fatally stabbed at a track meet in Texas. His twin brother tried to save him

(CNN) — Hunter Metcalf said he always looked up to his twin brother, Austin, who was born just four minutes before him.

“As a linebacker, he was a stud, and I always tried to fill those shoes and play with him,” Hunter Metcalf told CNN affiliate WFAA. “I had a blast my whole life playing sports with him.”

That bond remained unshakable until the moment Austin Metcalf took his last breath after being stabbed by another student during a high school track meet April 2 in Frisco, Texas, about 30 miles north of Dallas.

Metcalf told WFAA he tried to save his brother’s life by stopping him from bleeding out. He said he held him until first responders arrived on scene and attempted resuscitation.

“I tried to whip around as fast as I could,” Metcalf said. “I looked at my brother and I’m not going to talk about the rest. I tried to help him.”

First responders administered lifesaving measures, including CPR and giving blood, but were unable to save Austin Metcalf, who died at the scene, Frisco police said in a news release.

In that moment, Metcalf had lost his twin brother and role model. And the Frisco school community had lost a standout athlete with a promising future.

Police say the 17-year-old student at Frisco’s Memorial High School was stabbed after an altercation with a student from another school in the district.

Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old student at Centennial High School, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, police say. He was released from the Collin County Jail earlier this week, according to WFAA. A district court judge reduced Anthony’s initial bond from $1 million to $250,000 and placed him on house arrest, WFAA reported.

Anthony’s attorneys, Billy Clark and Kim T. Cole, released a statement earlier this month saying the teen and his family were “sincerely saddened that a life was lost and offer their condolences to the family of Austin Metcalf.”

“During this difficult time, we urge the public to refrain from rushing to judgment before all the facts and evidence are presented,” the statement said. “Karmelo, like all citizens of the United States, is entitled to a fair and impartial legal process; we are committed to ensuring that Karmelo’s rights are indeed protected throughout each phase of the criminal justice system.” They said they would seek a bond reduction.

A GiveSendGo support fund for Anthony had raised over $450,000 as of April 17.

Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, said at a news conference on April 17 that her family has received death threats since the incident. She denied social media claims the family used the GiveSendGo fund to purchase a home. Hayes said her family had not yet been granted access to the funds raised on the site, but were notified on April 16 that they could begin making withdrawals.

“I don’t know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial,” Hayes said. “Our son deserves the same rights under the law that everyone is afforded to. He has been raised in a two-parent home with structure, stability, love and we put God first in everything we do.”

“The narrative being spread is false, unjust, and harmful,” the family wrote on the GiveSendGo page.

According to an arrest report, Anthony said, “I was protecting myself” when he was approached by a school resource officer near the scene of the stabbing.

A witness told police the altercation started when Austin Metcalf told Anthony to move out from under the Memorial High School team’s tent, according to the arrest report. It was raining during the track meet and athletes were taking shelter, the arrest report said.

A back-and-forth argument between the two teens then escalated. Austin Metcalf touched Anthony, who had just told him, “Touch me and see what happens,” while reaching inside his bag, according to the arrest report. After Metcalf later grabbed Anthony to tell him to move again, Anthony pulled out what the witness recalled as a black knife, stabbed Metcalf once in the chest and ran off, the arrest report says. The knife was later found in the bleachers.

Meghan Metcalf, Austin and Hunter’s mother, said she is grieving the loss of her son.

“My son is not here anymore, and I don’t understand it,” she told WFAA. “He was the most amazing kid. So smart. He had college football guys looking at him to play in college. His goal was to play in college.”

Jeff Metcalf, the twins’ father, set up a GoFundMe campaign, which has raised nearly $400,000 as of April 17.

“He was a bright young man with a great future ahead of him,” his father wrote on the fundraiser page. “He was a leader of men. His smile would light up the room. His passion for football was unbelievable.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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