(FRISCO, Texas) — The 17-year-old student charged with murder in the stabbing of another student at a Texas high school track meet has been released from jail after his $1 million bond was reduced, online records show.
Karmelo Anthony, a student at Frisco Centennial High School, was detained following the deadly stabbing, which occurred at a Frisco Independent School District stadium on April 2 during a track and field championship involving multiple schools in the district.
Austin Metcalf, 17, an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, died after police said another student stabbed him during an altercation in the bleachers at the meet.
Anthony was initially held on $1 million bond. During a hearing on Monday, a Collin County judge set his bond at $250,000, online court records show. He was released from the Collin County Jail that day, online jail records show.
As part of his bond conditions, he has been ordered to be on house arrest, be supervised by a parent or designated adult at all times and have no contact with Metcalf’s family, according to court records. He also needs prior court approval to leave the house and must check in with the court bailiff weekly until the case is indicted into a different court, the court records show.
Judge Angela Tucker said she considered several factors in setting the new bond amount, including Anthony’s age, lack of past criminal history and close ties to the community, Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA reported.
Members of both teens’ families attended the hearing, according to WFAA.
Anthony is newly represented by Dallas defense attorney Mike Howard, who asked for $150,000 bond, according to WFAA. The prosecution argued the Anthony family was able to pay the $1 million bond through funds raised through the platform GiveSendGo, according to WFAA. The fundraiser had more than $416,000 in donations as of Monday afternoon. Anthony’s father told the court the family doesn’t have access to those funds yet, WFAA reported.
ABC News reached out to Howard for comment but has not received a response.
The Dallas-based social justice organization Next Generation Action Network, which is advocating for Anthony, said in a statement on X that the reduced bond “gives Karmelo and his family a much-needed window of relief and a chance to prepare for the road ahead.”
The organization said it was working with the Anthony family to process the bond.
The stabbing occurred under the Memorial High School tent in the stadium bleachers at approximately 10 a.m. on April 2, according to the arrest report.
Responding officers said they spoke to multiple witnesses, including one who reported the altercation began after Metcalf told Anthony to move out from under their team’s tent, according to the arrest report.
The witness reported that Anthony allegedly reached inside his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens,” according to the arrest report.
Metcalf grabbed Anthony to move him, according to a witness, and Anthony allegedly pulled out what the witness described as a black knife and “stabbed Austin once in the chest and then ran away,” the arrest report stated.
Anthony allegedly confessed to the killing and officers say he told them he was protecting himself, according to the arrest report.
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