South Carolina jurors acquitted a convenience store owner on Monday for fatally shooting a black 14-year-old who was carrying a gun, according to multiple reports.
Sixty-one-year-old Chikei Rick Chow was found not guilty of murder after he said he acted to protect his son in 2023 when killing Cyrus Carmack-Belton, who carried a handgun into the Columbia store, multiple news outlets reported. The case has reportedly sparked division and accusations of anti-black bias as nearly half the town’s population is black.
Prosecutors said Chow followed Carmack-Belton more than 100 yards after wrongly suspecting him of stealing water bottles from the store, the Associated Press reported. The defense reportedly argued Chow shot Carmack-Belton to protect his son because Carmack-Belton aimed his gun toward him. Prosecutors admitted the teen had a gun but argued he did not threaten anyone with it, according to the outlet.
Carmack-Belton’s family members were heard crying in outrage at the verdict in the televised hearing.
“This makes us feel as if our children don’t matter and they do,” Democratic South Carolina State Rep. Todd Rutherford, who is black, reportedly said in response to the verdict. “This makes us feel like Cyrus’ life didn’t matter and it did.”
Rutherford said he will help Carmack-Belton’s family pursue a civil lawsuit over the killing, the Associated Press reported.
Defense attorney Jack Swerling said the verdict reflects that Chow was justified in his actions while extending condolences to the family, according to the outlet.
“My heart goes out to them, but 14-year-old kid should not be roaming the streets of Columbia or South Carolina with [a] semiautomatic pistol loaded and ready to fire,” Swerling reportedly said.
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