South Carolina gas station owner acquitted of murder in 2023 fatal shooting of teen

The case implicates an Asian business owner in the killing of a Black child suspected of stealing, deepening fault lines between communities of color.

Jun 03, 2026

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Image via Law & Crime Trials, News 19 WLTX | YouTube

A South Carolina jury on Monday acquitted an Asian American gas station owner of murder in the 2023 shooting of Cyrus Carmack-Belton, a Black teenager falsely accused of shoplifting from his Columbia convenience store.

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Rick Chow, now 61, shot Carmack-Belton, 14, outside his Xpress Mart Shell Sta…

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