Sick conspiracy theories spread online about slain Texas football star Austin Metcalf’s death

Austin Metcalf, a 17-year-old athlete and honor student, died after he was knifed in the chest allegedly by Karmelo Anthony, also 17, following an altercation at a track meet in Frisco last Wednesday, cops said.

In the wake of the slaying, a spate of bogus accounts impersonating the local police chief and medical examiner’s office have popped up, spreading falsehoods about his demise — including one fake viral post claiming Metcalf actually died from a drug overdose.

Another fake post, which impersonated the Frisco police chief, claimed that Metcalf was killed after beating Anthony repeatedly during “mutual combat.”

One doctored image that claimed to be a report from the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office falsely stated Metcalf’s primary cause of death was an “MDMA drug overdose” — and that the stab wound was secondary, police said.

“The Frisco Police Department is aware of an image circulating on social media purporting to be a report from the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office. At this time, the report has NOT been released. Therefore, any information currently found online is FALSE,” the department said in an X post.

Meanwhile, a fake social media account was also set up impersonating Frisco Police Chief David Shilson — drawing a criminal investigation by the FBI and Frisco police, according to WFAA-TV.

The fabricated statement quoted the police chief as saying Metcalf had “sucker punched” his alleged killer first and that he’d also “smashed [Anthony]’s phone onto one of the bleachers” — leading to a “mutual combat altercation.”

“Beware of those taking to social media to deliberately spread misinformation, hate, fear and division,” Shilson said in a statement.

“I ask everyone to be cautious of the inaccurate information that is circulating related to this incident, and to only trust information that comes from official releases and verified sources.”