Store Owner Rick Chow Charged With Murdering 14-Year-Old

South Carolina retailer proprietor Rick Chow has been charged within the capturing loss of life of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton.

Retailer Proprietor Rick Chow Charged With Homicide After Taking pictures 14-Yr-Outdated Boy

In accordance with WIS-TV, Chow allegedly believed the teenager shoplifted a bottle of water from his Shell gasoline station in Columbia when the capturing occurred round 8 p.m. Sunday.

Nevertheless, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott refuted Chow’s shoplifting claims and stated even when the teenager had stolen, it might not have warranted what adopted.

“Regardless, even when he had shoplifted 4 bottles of water, which is what he initially took out of the cooler after which he put them again, even when he’d accomplished that, that’s not one thing you shoot anyone over, a lot much less a 14-year-old, however you simply don’t try this,” Sheriff Lott stated.

Authorities say, Chow, 58, and his son chased Carmack-Belton exterior the shop earlier than gunning the boy down. Sheriff Lott referred to as the boy’s loss of life “mindless.”

Rick Chow, proprietor of a Shell gasoline station in Columbia, SC, MURDERED Cyrus Carmack-Belton, a 14 yr outdated Black boy, over a bottle of water.

Asian People have a historical past of anti-Blackness, exploiting Black neighborhoods, policing Black our bodies, and appropriating Black tradition. pic.twitter.com/hcrnl8NY0M

— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) Might 30, 2023

Retailer Proprietor Believed Teen Had Shoplifted And Was Armed, Police Say

Chow’s son reportedly informed his father that Carmack-Belton was armed, based on RCSD. Deputies finally recovered a gun close to the sufferer’s physique, believed to be Carmack-Belton’s.

Nevertheless, RCSD stated there isn’t a proof that Carmack-Belton ever pointed the gun at or threatened Chow in any manner, based on the outlet.

Sheriff Lott added that Carmack-Belton was operating away from Chow when he was shot.  In the meantime, Richland County coroner Naida Rutherford stated the boy suffered one gunshot wound to the precise decrease again.

Investigators consider Chow “had a hid weapons allow” and the “firearm was legally owned.”

Lott went on to say that there have been a number of reported incidents and confrontations on the retailer. Nevertheless, he stated none of these previous incidents would have led Chow to consider he was in peril.

Chow’s Shell Gasoline Station Vandalized By Protesters A Day After Lethal Taking pictures

On Monday, WIS-TV reported that Chow’s retailer had been vandalized after protests there turned harmful, police say.

Deputies responded to the placement round 9:30 p.m. on Monday. Upon arrival, they are saying they discovered shattered home windows and a big group of individuals stealing merchandise inside the shop.

“This kind of prison conduct is not going to be tolerated,” stated Sheriff Lott. “People concerned shall be recognized and prosecuted.”

HAPPENING TODAY: That is the scene in the present day on the Shell gasoline station on Parklane Drive in Columbia.

Richland Co. Deputies say the shop was vandalized after the proprietor Rick Chow was charged with the homicide of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton. @wachfox pic.twitter.com/wuLJ2rwujL

— Sydni Edwards (@SydniSpeakstv) Might 30, 2023

In the meantime, an investigation into the incident is ongoing, deputies added.

Regulation & Crime stories that Chow’s first court docket look is scheduled for June 23.