The father of the slain Texas teen has broken his silence after he was kicked out of his son’s alleged killer’s press conference.
Austin Metcalf’s father Jeff Metcalf attended the event Thursday that was organized by supporters of his Karmelo Anthony – the 17-year-old accused of stabbing his son to death at a track meet on April 2.
The grieving dad, who had been standing with the press at the time, was soon escorted out of the venue after police were called to the Next Generation Action Network’s headquarters in Dallas.
Now, days after the incident, Jeff said he felt ‘disrespected’ and felt that the entire situation could have been handled differently.
‘They should have pulled me up [to the front] and said, “We are so sorry. Our condolences,” The only thing I would have said was, “Okay, can we pray together and show the world we’re united”,’ he told the New York Post.
He went on to say that his attendance at the press conference was meant to be a way for him to ‘represent Austin’ in response to the swirling rumors of his late son since his tragic death.
Jeff said his phone was blowing up with texts during the event telling him to leave.
‘I get a text. My phone’s blowing up. It’s the f***ing DA. He said, “Jeff, leave! Leave! Leave!”
Austin Metcalf’s father Jeff Metcalf said he felt ‘disrespected’ after being booted out of Karmelo Anthony’s press conference Thursday
He went on to say that his attendance at the press conference (pictured) was meant to be a way for him to ‘represent Austin’ in response to the swirling rumors of his late son since his tragic death unfolded
‘My ex wife texts me: “Leave, leave, leave!” They’ll call the cops if I don’t get the f*** out of there,’ he continued.
Minister Dominique Alexander delayed the event until Jeff, who refused to leave on his own when asked, was forced out of the room by security.
Alexander then slammed him for showing up uninvited, calling his behavior ‘inappropriate,’ and ‘a disrespect to the dignity of his son.’
In response to Alexander’s comments, Jeff said the minister ‘tried to assassinate my character.’
‘After I leave, that Dominique … just gaslights to sh** out of me. Says I’m disrespecting, I’m so disrespectful, I’m disrespecting the dignity of my son by showing up … and I’m just like whatever, dude.
‘My character’s been assassinated. Or they’ve tried to assassinate my character,’ he told the outlet.
At the end of the day, Jeff said he and Karmelo’s parents are ‘both victims.’
‘This is my point: We’re both victims. My son’s dead. Their son will be in prison. But it’s [sic] the end of the day, [Karmelo] needs to be accountable for his actions,’ Jeff added.
Karmelo walked free from jail (pictured) after a controversial decision by a judge to lower his bond for charges that he stabbed and killed Austin, who died in his twin brother’s arms
Karmelo walked free from jail after a controversial decision by a judge to lower his bond for charges that he stabbed and killed Austin.
The horrific killing at a track meet in Frisco has divided the community and nation at large, with Karmelo’s family claiming they have been left too afraid to leave their home over racist attacks.
Karmelo admitted to the stabbing, per police, but his lawyer has indicated he will claim that he acted in self-defense.
During the press conference, Karmelo’s parents insisted they ‘haven’t received a dime’ of the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to their son’s legal fund.
His mother Kala Hayes said the family had only just received notice that they can access the $500,000 of donations, but that it will still take a few days before any money is received.
‘We have not received a single dime from the GiveSendGo fundraiser,’ she said through sobs.
‘We were just notified yesterday that we could begin to withdraw funds and it still takes several days to receive those funds once the request is made.’
She added that her family had been subjected to harassment and death threats.
‘I don’t know why we’ve been targeted and discriminated against,’ Hayes said.
Local cops say a confrontation between Austin (pictured) and Karmelo broke out during a high school track meet when Austin called out Karmelo, who did not attend the same school as him, for sitting under his team’s tent
Alexander, the president and CEO of the Next Generation Action Network, echoed Hayes’ statement, and denied that the family used the money to ‘splurge’ on a new home and said that his organization had provided a security detail.
DailyMail.com recently revealed that Karmelo and his family are holed up in a $900,000 house in a gated community in Frisco which the family is renting for an estimated price tag of $3,500 a month, according to Zillow.
The detail emerged after Karmelo’s father, Andrew Anthony, told a court that he could not use the donations for his son’s original $1 million bond because it was to be used for his legal defense, as well as relocation and security costs.
A notice on the fundraiser also states that the money will be used for a, ‘range of urgent and necessary needs that have emerged as a result of this situation, including — but not limited to — the safe relocation of the Anthony family due to escalating threats to their safety and well-being, as well as basic living costs, transportation, counseling, and other security measures.’
Alexander also blasted ‘misinformation’ around the case and revealed that Frisco ISD is moving to expel Karmelo, who was set to graduate with a 3.7 GPA.
‘The Anthony family has been subject to an unimaginable amount of hate, racism and threats to their safety,’ he said.
But Karmelo’s family aren’t the only ones dealing with harassment, as Jeff was swatted by vicious pranksters the same day he was booted out of the conference.
Officers responded to a fabricated report of a shooting at an address that turned out to be Jeff’s home.
Karmelo admitted to the stabbing, per police, but his lawyer has indicated he will claim that he acted in self-defense
Austin demanded Karmelo leave and the argument escalated when Karlmelo pulled out a knife and stabbed the junior from Memorial High School in the chest, leaving him to bleed out in his twin brother Hunter’s arms. (Pictured: Austin and Hunter)
He told WFAA that no one was at home when police arrived. He got to the scene five minutes later.
Swatting involves people calling in fake threats to the authorities just to scare their victim by having police bust down their doors. There have been two reported cases of people dying as a result of swatting incidents.
Police also said individuals swatted the home of Meghan Metcalf, Austin’s mother, on the night of April 8.
Local cops say a confrontation between Austin and Karmelo broke out during a high school track meet when Austin called out Karmelo, who did not attend the same school as him, for sitting under his team’s tent.
Austin demanded Karmelo leave and the argument escalated when Karlmelo pulled out a knife and stabbed the junior from Memorial High School in the chest, leaving him to bleed out in his twin brother Hunter’s arms.
Since the senseless stabbing, false rumors have spread online that Austin bullied Karmelo, but a spokesperson for Karmelo later confirmed that the two boys had never met before the stabbing.
As part of the terms of his release, Karmelo is under house arrest and must wear an ankle monitor.
