South Carolina store owner acquitted in 2023 shooting of 14-year-old suspected of shoplifting
A South Carolina jury acquitted store owner Chikei Rick Chow of murder in the 2023 shooting of Cyrus Carmack-Belton, a Black 14-year-old who was fleeing after being chased from Chow’s Columbia convenience store for allegedly shoplifting water. Prosecutors said Chow chased Carmack-Belton more than 130 yards and fired in the back, while the defense argued Chow fired to defend his son after Carmack-Belton allegedly pointed a gun at him; prosecutors noted Carmack-Belton never threatened anyone with the pistol. The verdict sparked grief among Carmack-Belton’s family and renewed debate over self-defense, racial tensions, and the pattern of violence around Chow’s store, which had prior self-defense-related incidents.
