South Carolina Jury Clears Gas Station Owner in Killing of 14-Year-Old Cyrus Carmack‑Belton

Former Columbia gas station owner Chikei “Rick” Chow has been found not guilty in the killing of 14‑year‑old Black teen Cyrus Carmack‑Belton, a verdict that has enraged many people across South Carolina and beyond. The case centers on a 2023 shooting outside Chow’s Shell station, where he chased Cyrus more than 100 yards and shot him in the back after accusing the boy of trying to steal bottled water, even though video and police later showed Cyrus had put the bottles back and had not actually shoplifted.

At trial, prosecutors argued this was never self‑defense but a furious overreaction to a suspected petty theft, stressing that any threat had passed once the teenager ran and that Chow chose to pursue and kill a child. CNN’s detailed breakdown of the trial lays out how the state tried to dismantle his self‑defense claim and why jurors still returned a not‑guilty verdict: here.

After three days of testimony and about eight hours of deliberations, the jury decided the state had not disproved self‑defense beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted Chow of murder, allowing him to walk free after nearly three years behind bars awaiting trial. Inside and outside the courtroom, Cyrus’s family and supporters were left stunned and furious, arguing that a man who chased a child and shot him in the back should never walk free in a system that claims to value justice.

The verdict has already sparked protests in Columbia and a wave of online outrage, with many people tying this case to a broader pattern of armed business owners and civilians killing Black teens and later claiming fear to avoid punishment. NBC News’ coverage captures the community’s response and the larger racial justice questions the decision raises: here.