The father of slain high school athlete Austin Metcalf was the victim of a swatting attempt just minutes after he was kicked out of the family news conference for Karmelo Anthony, the accused killer.
Frisco police said that they responded to a report of a gunshot at the home of the Metcalf family on Thursday. They found no evidence of a shot being fired at the home and determined that the call was an attempt at “swatting,” which is a false call intended to cause harm through a police response.
Metcalf was at a track meet on April 2 at the Kuykendall Stadium when he was fatally stabbed, allegedly by Anthony, after a brief interaction, police said. The case has become the focus of a national debate on crime.
Jeff Metcalf, the father of the victim, tried to attend the press conference for the Anthony family, but he was spotted by one of the Anthony advocates, who had him escorted out by police. His presence delayed the start of the press conference.
A spokesperson for the Anthony family lambasted “conservative operatives” for spreading what he said was “misinformation” about the family and accused the critics of being motivated by “bigotry” and “racism.”
The suspect’s mother, Kayla Hayes, said the family was under intense scrutiny and was suffering from having to deal with criticism stemming from the incident.
“Whatever you think what happened between Karmelo and the Metcalf boys, my three younger children, my husband, and I didn’t do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed, and lied about,” she said at the press conference.
“The lies and false accusations that have been said about us, especially over the past week, has been overwhelming. The lies and their amplification put my family in danger,” she added.
“To the family who experienced the loss, my heart truly goes out to you,” Hayes said.
Anthony’s father has said that his son was not the aggressor in the incident.
Jeff Metcalf previously excoriated the suspect’s family for his accused actions.
“I’m not trying to judge, but what kind of parents did this child have? What was he taught?” he asked. “He brought a knife to a track meet, and he murdered my son by stabbing him in the heart. The guy was in the wrong place, and they asked him to move, and he bowed up. This is murder.”
Anthony was released from jail after his bail was lowered from $1 million to $250,000. He is on house arrest awaiting trial.
Asking questions, even about parenting of an apparently aggressive teen, whom others reported appeared to have come to the improper location with intent to stir up trouble, is NOT” telling lies”; it is a perfectly reasonable question. In view of their don’t actions. As for the “racism and bigotry”… well, it appears they do protest too much while overtly demonstrating their own.