Family of Stabbing Victim Endures 'Swatting' While Grieving Loss

The family of Austin Metcalf, who became a victim of a lethal stabbing, is being tormented by a wave of “swatting” incidents, causing law enforcement to repeatedly swarm their residence. Swatting involves fabricating a false emergency to provoke a SWAT team deployment to an unsuspecting location. This dangerous prank is often inflicted on live-streamers with the intent of capturing the chaos on video. Unfortunately, such pranks can turn perilous because the unsuspecting victims may react unpredictably or be harmed when the SWAT team bursts in.

Recently, Frisco police confirmed a report of gunfire at the Metcalf property. However, upon investigation, it was confirmed there was no shooting, according to FOX 4. This marks the third swatting ordeal for the Metcalf family following the media spotlight after Austin, aged 17, was killed at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, earlier this month. Earlier swatting episodes occurred on April 8 and April 17, targeting both his mother’s and his father’s homes. Although police are likely probing the origin of these calls, they have not shared further details. Filing a false report is often classified as a Class A misdemeanor, carrying penalties of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Texas is striving to introduce harsher penalties for swatting offenses.

Austin met his tragic fate on April 2, and since then, both his family and that of the alleged perpetrator, 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, have been under intense public scrutiny. The incident unfolded when Metcalf allegedly asked Anthony to vacate a tent at Memorial High School, as Anthony was not a student there. This led to a confrontation where Anthony allegedly warned, “Touch me and see what happens,” per arrest records. A witness claims Metcalf tried to remove Anthony, prompting Anthony to allegedly retrieve a knife from a bag and fatally stab him. Anthony was subsequently apprehended and charged with first-degree murder. Following his release under house arrest, threats and hostile visits from the public escalated against Anthony’s family, necessitating his relocation to an undisclosed safe place.

Concurrently, Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, is grappling with profound loss while being unwittingly dragged into broader socio-political tensions. Last week, a group led by a defendant from the Capitol riot staged a protest at the school where Austin was killed. Jeff Metcalf publicly denounced the protestors, branding their leader as “trash” with no genuine concern for his family’s ordeal. The turmoil of grief compounded by such disruptions underscores the ongoing struggles faced by both families involved in this devastating event.