Former students testified Wednesday that a Texas man, on trial for killing a classmate in 2022 during a school bathroom brawl, “didn’t want to fight.”

As CrimeOnline previously reported, prosecutors said Caysen Allison, then 18, stabbed Jose Luis “Joe” Ramirez Jr., 18, multiple times during a fight involving several students on May 18, 2022, at Belton High School in Belton.

Police arrested Allison shortly after the incident and found a folding knife at his home, covered in what appeared to be blood.

Former Belton High School students, Tito Shamel and Angel Morillo, were two of the six people, including Allison and Ramirez, inside the restroom when the fight began. The altercation stemmed from an argument over a girl.

Shamel testified that he had a close friendship with Ramirez and saw the confrontation as it unfolded in the restroom. He told the court he recorded part of the incident on his phone.

Jurors viewed the video footage in court on Tuesday, according to KWTX.

Shamel said the video showed Ramirez throwing the first punch at Allison. He said the footage then showed Allison pulling out a knife before a loud scream is heard and the video cuts off.

Reina Barber, a friend of Allison and acquaintance of Ramirez, also testified. She said she attempted to defuse the situation by calming Ramirez shortly before the fight began.

Barber said Ramirez and his friends had a reputation for getting into fights., adding that Ramirez often wanted his fights filmed. He said the fight with Allison had been arranged in advance, but wasn’t planned to happen at school.

Barber testified that Allison didn’t usually carry a knife but had one that day because he told her he got it for self-defense.

“Caysen survived what could have very well been death or bodily injury by a group beat down,” defense attorney Zachary Boyd said during opening statements, adding that the defendant was “in the fight for his life when he was jumped by five friends.”

The prosecution argued earlier this week that Allison claimed he only stabbed Ramirez once, but a hospital exam indicated that the has stab wounds to his chest, legs, arms, and back. Witnesses described earlier this week seeing the victim with “gaping wound across his left chest.” after he fled from the bathroom, bleeding profusely.

Meanwhile, Ramirez’s mother previously told KWTX that her son and the defendant had planned to have a weapons-free fight after school and off-campus, which sparked over an issue at prom.

“With my boys, I always feared that they’d get in a fight. The world is just getting uglier. People don’t just solve things and move on, they go to this extent for just the stupidest reasons, over a girl,” the mother said, adding that she had never heard of the defendant prior to the fight.

“We never even knew this was a problem. Nobody talked to us. My boys didn’t tell me anything about what happened at prom.”

If convicted, Allison could face life behind bars.

The trial continues. Check back for updates.

[Feature Photos: Joe Ramirez/Handout; Caysen Allison/Benton County PD]