A South Carolina jury found Chikei Rick Chow, aged 61, not guilty of murder in the 2023 shooting of Cyrus Carmack-Belton, a 14-year-old Black teenager. Chow, an Asian convenience store owner in Columbia, shot the teenager in the back after a pursuit from his store. He stated he acted in defense of his son. The incident caused significant grief and anguish within Richland County’s African American community, where nearly half the population identifies as Black.
Following the jury’s verdict, Carmack-Belton’s family showed visible distress, while Chow, feeling the weight of the moment, remained frozen and later bowed his head. Both prosecution and defense in the trial depicted varying accounts of the 2023 incident. Prosecutors argued Chow acted out of anger over a mistaken accusation of the teenager stealing four water bottles. On the other hand, Chow’s defense attorney, Shaun Kent, contended that Chow’s actions were to defend his son, Andy Chow, who he believed was threatened with a gun by Carmack-Belton.
The defense revealed that Andy Chow testified to seeing Carmack-Belton aim a gun at him. Prosecutors conceded that Carmack-Belton was in possession of a semiautomatic pistol during the chase but maintained the teenager never used it to threaten anyone. The chase extended over 130 yards from the convenience store.
During the closing arguments, Solicitor Byron E. Gipson emphasized that Chow’s pursuit and shooting of the teenager demonstrated a lack of justification. Gipson told the jury that no physical altercation occurred between Chow and Carmack-Belton in the store prior to the chase, corroborated by Richland County Coroner Nadia Rutherford. Rutherford stated the fatal gunshot wound was located in the lower back, consistent with Carmack-Belton fleeing.
Gipson presented a bottle of water to the jury, stressing Chow regarded the value of human life as less than an object. Several eyewitnesses testified that Carmack-Belton held nothing in his hands nor did he gesture threateningly while fleeing, Gipson highlighted, adding that only the Chow family claimed otherwise.
After the shooting, vigils and protests arose outside the store. In one vigil in 2023, participants arranged water bottles spelling out “Cyrus.” Notably, Chow had experienced previous incidents involving firearm use in what was deemed self-defense against shoplifters. His store, Xpress Mart Shell, drew hundreds of police reports between 2018 and 2023 for various offenses such as theft and vandalism.