FRISCO — A 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed by another student Wednesday morning at a high school track meet in Frisco, police said.
Authorities were dispatched about 10 a.m. to the David Kuykendall Stadium in the 6900 block of Stadium Lane, where the District 11-5A track meet was taking place.
According to Frisco police, the meet was suspended after an altercation between two students resulted in one stabbing the other.
The victim, 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, died as a result of his injuries, school district officials wrote in an email sent to parents. The email said Metcalf was an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School who participated in both track and football.
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Haleigh Phillips, a sophomore at Memorial, said Metcalf was always laughing and was very family oriented.
“I think everyone can agree that he was an amazing person, and I think that shows right now the most,” she said.
Karmelo Anthony, 17, a student at Frisco Centennial High School, was taken into custody and faces a murder charge in the killing, according to police. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney.
Related:What we know about the fatal Frisco track meet stabbing
Officer Grant Cottingham, a police spokesman, declined to provide additional information Wednesday afternoon, including where Anthony would be booked into jail.
“The Frisco Police Department grieves with all those affected by this devastating loss and extends its deepest condolences to the victim’s family, students and staff who are experiencing unimaginable pain,” department officials wrote in a statement.
Fire and emergency medical responders were also called to the meet. A Frisco Fire Department spokesperson declined to comment, referring a reporter to police.
“My thoughts are with the family of the victim and the entirety of Frisco ISD,” state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, wrote in a statement. “I am grateful for the first responders who responded to this emergency and look forward to working with them to address any further concerns.”
After the stabbing, Frisco ISD notified parents that the stadium was secured and students were sent back to their home campus. The schools in District 11-5A for track are Frisco Centennial, Frisco Memorial, Frisco High, Frisco Emerson, Frisco Heritage, Frisco Independence, Frisco Lebanon Trail and Frisco Liberty.
Susie Sanchez said she picked up daughter Mia from Memorial High School on Wednesday afternoon after Mia let her know what happened.
“When I got here, I saw a little boy literally just on the floor crying, and it broke my heart,” Sanchez said. “To me, it’s a nightmare, to have to come to the school and find out that someone is gone.”
While Sanchez said she’s generally been very pleased with the staff at Memorial, she was a little frustrated that the school hadn’t communicated about the incident earlier.
“It’s scary because you don’t even know as a parent. … If she wouldn’t have called me, I wouldn’t have known,” she said. “We don’t want to find out from the news or our students texting us, afraid.”
University Interscholastic League staff — who oversee academic, athletic, and music competitions in Texas — were “deeply saddened” by reports of the stabbing and were working with Frisco ISD to offer support, UIL spokesperson Logan Lawrence said in a statement.
“Our thoughts go out to those impacted,” Lawrence said.
The district track meet that was suspended Wednesday is set to be completed beginning at 9 a.m. Monday at Little Elm High School, with event finals only, Frisco ISD told The Dallas Morning News.
The area-round meet is still scheduled for next Wednesday at Standridge Stadium in Carrollton, as planned. Frisco ISD said there is a possibility that it could change, though.
The deadline for UIL district meets to be completed had been Saturday, according to the UIL website. The deadline for completing area-round meets is April 12.
“UIL staff is in communication with district officials and is working with them to help them complete the district meet,” Lawrence said in an email. “At this time, we are focused on helping the schools deal with a tragic situation and will support them in any way we can.”
Staff writer Hojun Choi contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: 5:20 p.m. April 2: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the victim’s age due to incorrect information provided by Frisco police.
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