Rick Chow, South Carolina Store Owner, Found Not Guilty of Murder in Death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton

A South Carolina jury on Monday found Rick Chow not guilty of murder after he fatally shot a 14-year-old Black boy in 2023 whom he had falsely accused of shoplifting from his convenience store.

Mr. Chow, 61, shot Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back on May 28, 2023, after chasing the teenager, believing he had stolen four water bottles from the Xpress Mart Shell Station he owned in Columbia, S.C. Mr. Chow also said Cyrus had pointed a gun at his son, so he had acted to defend him.

The shooting drew national attention and roiled the community in Columbia, where demonstrators gathered outside Mr. Chow’s shop after the shooting.

The prosecutor in the case, Byron Gipson, said in a statement on Tuesday that the verdict “has brought on strong emotions from our local and national communities.”

“While I am disappointed with last night’s outcome and continue to believe that Rick Chow’s actions were not justifiable, I respect our criminal justice system and the jury’s decision,” said Mr. Gipson, South Carolina’s solicitor for the Fifth Circuit.

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