Yesterday morning, two families woke up in Frisco excited for their kids who had UIL Championship Track Meet at Kenkuydall Stadium. Neither family had any clue or saw coming that by the end of the day one family would lose a son, and the other family would have a son facing murder charges.  This should not be happening in Frisco, Texas.

Today, it is compounded by the fact that America (yes America, this has gone viral) has an opinion on what happened.  Rumors are being crafted, hate is being spread across social media calling this racial because of the colors of the boy’s skin tones, accusations are being hurled.  People are digging through these two teenage boy’s social media accounts looking for the “worst of the worst” to post and they will find it – but how does that change this now?  The end result is spreading more hate and divide in a time when we should be waiting for answers.

Believe me when I say this is a parent’s worst nightmare come true on both sides.  The parents had no clue as their kids went out the door, neither of them would be coming home.   The father of Austin Metcalf, the victim who died in his twin brothers’ arms, spoke out and said, “I want to clarify something right off the start because I have already heard some rumors and gossip.  This was not a race thing; this is not a political thing …this is a human being thing!  This young man made a bad choice, and it affected his family and our family forever.  It is a very unfortunate thing.”  He went on “I forgive this boy, not for him but for me, as a father to have peace.  His life is destroyed, my life is destroyed; it is an unfortunate, tragic event that will affect us for the rest of our lives.  I want to get the word out to other parents so they will talk to their children, so this does not happen again.  Senseless acts of violence have become more acceptable, and we have become more callous to them.  That needs to change.”

He is an incredible father to have faith over fear today!  My wife and I would like to follow in his father’s footsteps and send our thoughts, prayers and condolences to both families.  We will be lifting them all up in prayer as well as for our community to heal from this.  Last night, Austin Metcalf was called home.  Last night Karmelo Anthony spent the first of many nights in jail.  Nobody Wins!

Part of that healing is asking legitimate questions that we expect investigators to find answers to:

1. Why did a young man bring a knife to a track meet?

2. At what moment, did he loose control and make the decision to stab him in the chest?

3. When did the first call to 911 get logged?

4. What was the dispatch time, enroute time, and arrival time of the first arriving unit, and was the clear time?

5. Were there any medical personnel for the school on-site at this track meet?  If no, why not? 

6. Did the revitalization construction happening downtown directly affect the response time of EMS units.  What was the time frame delay between him being stabbed and receiving life saving measures by police and fire including CPR and the administration of blood?

7. Is the school offering mental health services to the kids involved and around?

8. Is the city offering mental health services to the first responders who had to watch this young adult die?

9. Were there any warning signs in the young adult’s life or history that would have led the school to believe that he could become a dangerous offender or be carrying a weapon?

10. How could this have avoided?  What security measures did the school district have in place at this event?

Both families have to live with Karmelo Anthony decision for the rest of their lives. These questions will tell us who dropped the ball and at what level because a kid does not wake up and say Today, I am taking a knife to a track meet. We need to know where, how, and when the failures happened to keep all the students safe in our schools. One young man made a decision that would affect both families’ lives forever yesterday.  We need to stop and talk to our kids and make sure they understand that it doesn’t matter if this was over a seat, a cellphone, or a simple exchange of teenage verbal words — none of those reasons, or any reason, is acceptable to take a person’s life.  That is the conversation parents should be having today with their kids.  The other day, I took my wife to HEB, and she is in a wheelchair.  I had a hard time getting it up over the curb.  A group of kids laughed and snickered – no one offered to help and that is what is wrong with our country today.  It is time to reteach our kids about humanity and being good stewards.  We need to ask ourselves, “What is happening to our town, to our community, that this would be how an otherwise normal day ends?”

This should not have happened in Frisco, Texas …. Yet it did!