Jury Acquits Asian Store Owner Who Shot And Killed Black Alleged Shoplifter

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, multiplenewsoutlets 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,