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Austin Metcalf stabbing: Collin County DA speaks about what's next in case

Posted by Snobolski@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 88 comments

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88 Comments

HorseCockExpress6969@reddit

I know it's hard but you know what the best thing to do right now is? Not judge either one of these boys
View on Reddit #53401463

SpecialistGrouchy341@reddit

My only judgement at this point is the fact that a knife was brought onto a school campus and used in an altercation. Unless the defense can somehow prove that the suspect didn’t bring the knife and it wasn’t his knife, that alone stacks highly against him IMO. As to the rest of it, I can’t say at this point because I wasn’t there.
View on Reddit #53404129

yarmulke@reddit

I hope you hold the same opinion on knives being on school campuses when it’s a white kid with a pocket knife, which is incredibly common in Texas.
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noncongruent@reddit

Near as I can tell there are only two legal aspects to the knife being on campus. Under state law any knife with a blade over 5.5" is prohibited: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/pe/htm/pe.46.htm Frisco ISD has a No Knives policy that is pretty inclusive, including specifically mentioning "pocket knives", it's on page 7 of their published Student Code of Conduct: https://www.friscoisd.org/docs/default-source/resources-information/frisco_isd_scoc.pdf?sfvrsn=bccd42d7_1 When I went to school pocket knives were perfectly acceptable, but that was a while ago. They're not acceptable in a lot of school districts now for just this reason: That they can be used to inflict grievous harm on others. With no state law being broken, and given the circumstances it would seem suspension/expulsion is moot, the legality of the presence of the knife will not likely have any meaningful effect on the case. The prosecution may try to use it as an element of premeditation, but given how much more complex and difficult it is to prove premeditated murder, with a higher risk of acquittal, it's likely that path won't be pursued.
View on Reddit #53413037

Snobolski@reddit (OP)

Does having a weapon in a prohibited area nullify the self defense argument in Texas? Like if someone brings a gun to a bar and uses it in self-defense, does having the gun there nullify the claim of self defense?
View on Reddit #53406176

Huisache@reddit

Not sure if it nullifies, but I don't believe that stabbing someone is "reasonable and proportionable" to pushing/shoving/punching.
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

A fist fight is a deadly threat. Plenty of stories about people who died after one punch.
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Self-Comprehensive@reddit

I've been wondering this myself. Carrying anything bigger than a pocket knife to school is a felony. I don't think you can claim self defense while you're actively commiting a felony. And if that was a butcher knife or a hunting knife the kid was committing a felony just by carrying it around.
View on Reddit #53406679

MarioV2@reddit

Well one was killed by the hands of another, so
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Hard_Corsair@reddit

Yes, but until we get more/better information we don't know if it was justified or not, hence the need for due process.
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HorseCockExpress6969@reddit

My bad. I forgot you were right there next to them and witnessed it
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Agreeable_Meaning_96@reddit

lethal force is only appropriate to stop lethal force, the claw is clear cut on this, fucking loser couldn't fight with his fists like a man, little baby had to pull out a knife, literally cannot be defended in any situation unless the other kid was armed
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MarioV2@reddit

How could you forget, smartass
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HorseCockExpress6969@reddit

I might be a smart-ass but that's better than just assuming something like I was there
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Danyboii@reddit

I don’t think it’s too early to ask who raised this boy to think that an appropriate reaction to a low stakes argument was stabbing someone in the heart.
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MooNinja@reddit

That is a great point. This is just such an utter and complete tragedy. Losing the lives of two young men, because of rash idiotic decisions at such a young age. There is no excusing the thoughtless murder of another man, but it is a tragedy for both just the same. Two families and countless friends have had their lives upended by this.
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DonkeeJote@reddit

I know why we say things like this are 'thoughtless' or 'senseless' but I think even saying that gives a disservice to the individuals we are trying to judge from afar. We don't know everything so even that label is prejudicial. Not trying to say you are, just sharing thoughts.
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MooNinja@reddit

Thoughtless as in reportedly reactionary, and in the moment. I wouldn't label it as prejudicial, as it is building upon the facts that have been given. I can see your point, and thank you for the post!
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DonkeeJote@reddit

Ah, I see your point. Glad I didn't come off accusatory cuz internet is hard sometimes to seem like you aren't just arguing for the sake of it.
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

Prepare for downvotes from people who want to see another child die.
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Burn_The_MF_Ship@reddit

Bring back the death penalty for murder and jail the race baiters
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

Bring it back from where? Texas has more people awaiting execution than any other state.
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DonkeeJote@reddit

Not available for defendants under 18
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SaltySaltFace42@reddit

Can we change it? 17 seems old enough, this man needs a quick death.
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soggyballsack@reddit

Yes we can. We can change it to prebirth. Bring back abortions!
View on Reddit #53400634

SaltySaltFace42@reddit

I'm am all for abortions in fact I think the state should pay for them as its far cheaper in the long run the more abortions we can have in poor neighborhoods the less we have to pay out in welfare I'd also support a free sterilization program that was publicly funded
View on Reddit #53402594

Dallas-ModTeam@reddit

Your post/comment has been removed because it violates **[Rule #2: Discriminatory Language](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/wiki/rules)** Violations of this rule may result in a ban. Please review the r/Dallas rules on the sidebar before commenting or posting. Send a message the moderators if you have any questions. Thanks!
View on Reddit #53411575

soggyballsack@reddit

I would rather there be abortion access locations in low income and high income areas. (Albeit the high income will come to the low income so their friends won't see them and then turn around and advocate birth rights) But I digress.
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Burn_The_MF_Ship@reddit

We comparing babies to murder suspects?
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soggyballsack@reddit

If a mother dies while giving birth, is she suicidal or is the child a murderer? Could go either way. Either way the child is still a murder suspect because the mother died cause of the child.
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DonkeeJote@reddit

We've NEARLY got them to the point where they realize that certain activities to keep people alive are a net burden on society (in addition to the personal cruelty, of course)
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soggyballsack@reddit

They don't care. As long as it's someone else's burdens and not theirs they'll continue to advocate for birth rights but I don't see them lining up at the adoption places ready to take in kids.
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Burn_The_MF_Ship@reddit

Hey snow balls. The death penalty is only for capital murder
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

So you're saying we have a death penalty and it doesn't need to be brought back from anywhere? Whew, for a minute I thought it was lost or had run away.
View on Reddit #53405176

Plugwalk795@reddit

Apparently he laid hands on him before he was killed, we will have to see what comes out about the case
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houdinishandkerchief@reddit

A push does not justify a stabbing. Hopefully this lesson is learned by all, unfortunate that a young man has to find this out the hard way.
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soggyballsack@reddit

A push is the start of a beating. And in self defense all you need is the belief that it was going to escalate. And it sure looks like it was.
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NTXGBR@reddit

Impressive. Every word of what you just shit out of your mouth is wrong. 
View on Reddit #53401398

Dallas-ModTeam@reddit

Your comment has been removed because it is a violation of **[Rule #3: Uncivil Behavior](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/wiki/rules)** Violations of this rule may result in a ban. Please review the r/Dallas rules on the sidebar before commenting or posting. Send a message the moderators if you have any questions. Thanks!
View on Reddit #53410378

Snobolski@reddit (OP)

"I was afraid for my life so I used my weapon." This works fine for cops, why not the rest of us?
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NTXGBR@reddit

That’s not how it works and you know that. 
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

Tell me how it makes sense that cops get to be more afraid than the rest of us.
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NTXGBR@reddit

That isn’t the case, and again…you know it. 
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AngryyFerret@reddit

because no reasonable person would believe he was afraid for his life. and no the average redditor doesn’t count
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

>because no reasonable person would believe he was afraid for his life That's exactly what I think when the cops shoot an unarmed person and use "I was afraid for my life." Maybe the average person is more afraid of someone holding a cell phone than someone putting hands on them?
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DonkeeJote@reddit

No person at the age of 17 is a reasonable person. socially, not legally.
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Quirky-Mode8676@reddit

Your name is fitting…angrily running quickly from comment to comment to spout off about how everyone is wrong. You appear to have the answer of exactly what went down, and how the finders of fact will classify it. I can’t help but feel that your all-knowing clairvoyance could be put to better use though. Perhaps you could cure cancer for us? World hunger? Or at least let us in on the power all numbers….
View on Reddit #53402522

soggyballsack@reddit

You can down vote all you want but your hurt feelings aren't any good in court.
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NTXGBR@reddit

Neither would your complete lack of understanding about what the law is or what happened. You should quit while you’re behind. 
View on Reddit #53401696

soggyballsack@reddit

Grab a glass of water, sit down outside and cool down. Your getting all worked up over wanting to hang someone because your feelings are all bunches up. Now the lawn, fold some clothes or something to ease your mind. Your starting to spew hate again.
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NTXGBR@reddit

Learn what the law is before you speak again. 
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soggyballsack@reddit

You talking about stand your ground? Because that's pretty solid except for some gray areas here and there. But I gotta tell you, it opens up a whole can of worms you can't easily put back in.
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NTXGBR@reddit

And you’ve already proven you have zero idea how it applies or how self defense laws apply here. So again, you should quit talking until you understand it. 
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soggyballsack@reddit

🤦🏻‍♂️ there is good reason to believe there's a self defense case here. Your feelings and/or narrow mindedness have no play here. You can yell "hang him" all you want, it won't matter.
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AngryyFerret@reddit

you’re the one who’s worked up. you don’t know the law so why don’t you just sit down and let the adults talk?
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noaz14@reddit

Just going to ignore committing a felony by bringing a knife to a school event and then instigating a fight just to stab him. Hope he gets life.
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

Sometimes it's ok to instigate and then murder. If the victim had been a left-wing protester, the stabber could look forward to a pardon from the governor.
View on Reddit #53406653

soggyballsack@reddit

The felony he is guilty of no doubt. Permitted the knife was long enough to fall under the banned category. Instigating a fight by being in a tent? That's a stretch. Stabbing after getting assaulted, that's where the doubt lies and we'll see in court who has the best argument.
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StrangeBotwin7@reddit

This is Texas. If an adult puts hands on another adult, they’re getting shot. Especially if the person is surrounded by the other’s friends. Its a hard lesson but noone owes anyone a fair foght in the real world. If someone initiates violence they should be prepared to die. This is a stand your ground state. No duty to retreat.
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HTown2369@reddit

He has no claim for self defense lol. He was instigating the fight saying things like “touch me and see what happens” or “hit me” those aren’t words of a man in fear for his life. Then the use of lethal force in self defense is only justified if you felt your own life was in danger, and him instigating the fight isn’t a good example of him feeling like he’s in lethal danger. This is all on top of the fact that the kid was in the wrong tent, of the school that a kid he has prior issues with goes to, and was recorded texting one of his friends saying he wants to stab someone. Nothing about this case suggests that he felt threatened or like his life was in danger, considering he consistently tried to confront and escalate the situation.
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StrangeBotwin7@reddit

“Touch me and see what happens” is not a conversation starter. He was obviously threatened. And he was surrounded and outnumbered when the dead kid initiated physical violence against Karmelo. Like I said, if this happened amongst adults, in TX, dude would’ve been shot. He’d be alive if he’d kept his hands to himself. That’s just facts.
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HTown2369@reddit

Yeah you conveniently ignored the part where he’s in a reserved area he’s not supposed to be in, with a knife which is illegal on school grounds, while having texted one of his friends earlier that he wants to stab someone.
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StrangeBotwin7@reddit

He was under a tent trying to stay out of the rain. Not another kid’s job to physically remove him. That is also an illegal act. Literally assault. I don’t really care about the knife at school. I went to a school that was pretty country and damn near every white kid had a knife on their belt in a leather sheath. Don’t see it as a big deal. I didn’t know about the text. Was that earlier in the day or was it in reference to the conflict before it turned physical? At the end of the day, regardless of anything else, if dude would have kept his hands to himself and gotten a resource officer, he’d be alive. 
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YaGetSkeeted0n@reddit

If a guy pushed me (and it stopped there), I wouldn’t draw and fire, I’d walk away lol
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StrangeBotwin7@reddit

That’s fine but irrelevant. There’s no duty to retreat in Texas. The person doesn’t even have to touch you for it to be legal assault. Just make a believable threat like “ I’m gonna beat your ass” then take a step towards you. You’re also ignoring the fact that he was outnumbered and surrounded which changes the threat perception. 
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YaGetSkeeted0n@reddit

Right, I know statutorily the law is pretty clear that it’s just reasonable fear of a threat to your life (or something along those lines). I wonder what the case law is like; I wouldn’t wanna roll the dice myself.
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houdinishandkerchief@reddit

Yeah. You’re wrong lol you do this as an adult and the ONLY difference is they’ll be able to apply the death penalty and life without parole.
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StrangeBotwin7@reddit

Yeah. No. Not in Texas. This is straight from a law class taught by an ADA. Stay in school, kid
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houdinishandkerchief@reddit

Reasonable take. Unfortunately we don’t live amongst reasonable people apparently.
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YaGetSkeeted0n@reddit

I mean, shit can get outta hand real quick, but if it was just a shove I’d walk away. Ideally it wouldn’t even get to that point in the first place. No place for ego if you have a weapon on you for self defense IMO.
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Emergency-Ad280@reddit

That is not at all how the law works.
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DonkeeJote@reddit

Unfortunately that's the message from the 2A crowd, regardless of the legalities. So this is the mindset we get.
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

You mean the level-headed people advising someone to shoot a flasher on the Katy Trail?
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houdinishandkerchief@reddit

lol you’re so incredibly wrong on all parts legally. Good luck to you.
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Furrealyo@reddit

This seems like a case of “when keeping it real goes wrong.”
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noncongruent@reddit

Had hopes this comment section wouldn't go down the shitter, but here we are. Locked.
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_ze@reddit

I am sure we will have a level-headed conversation about this and no one will let their preconceived biases and deep-seated racism interfere with their judgement. Everyone will also be well aware that they have very little hard facts on the matter - certainly not enough to make judgement or desire another death of a child, in response.
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yarmulke@reddit

A lot of white guys who carried pocket knives to school got a lot of interesting opinions about a black kid who had a pocket knife at school.
View on Reddit #53410250

houstonastrosranger@reddit

Ethan Crumbley and Aidan Fucci both got life without parole despite being minors at the time of their crime. If they can receive that sentence then so can Karmelo Anthony
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onebread@reddit

I’m not even up on all the details of this case but this sounds like a false equivalency. We don’t need to be locking up minors for life without parole.
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

That's not going to satisfy the blood lust that a lot of commenters )who are almost certainly fine upstanding members of the DFW community and definitely not brigaders from far-right groups coming here to stir up racial tensions) seem to have.
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fivemagicks@reddit

So clearly you're on the side of... Oh, I don't know, allowing high school kids to kill each other if some fight happens (millions of fights have happened in high schools without kids dying). What do *you* think should happen to this kid?
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spongyguy24@reddit

Ethan Crumbley did a mass shooting at a school. Aidan Fucci stabbed a girl 114 times unprovoked.
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Xidig6@reddit

A Neonazi group called the American Blackshirts movement has placed a banner near the scene of the incident (the picture can be seen on the frisco subreddit). I wonder if they’re also involved in the coordinated doxing and harassment of the Anthony family.
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Snobolski@reddit (OP)

Seems like a lot of them comment on every post about the incident.
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Xidig6@reddit

Agreed, there’s definitely some coordinated astroturfing happening with this case. The racial slurs and casual prejudice against Black people being all over social media almost immediately after the case hit the news was eye opening. There was a similar situation that happened in Killeen Tx where a 14 year old fatally stabbed another classmate just last month. There wasn’t much media controversy over it.
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DonkeeJote@reddit

Which ironically is making it more likely that the case gets moved from Collin County, which is probably the jurisdiction KA is most likely to see the more severe charges.
View on Reddit #53407235

burningdesireforfire@reddit

💉💉💉💉
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