A South Carolina jury found an Asian store owner not guilty of murder in the shooting of a Black teen who the store owner said had pulled a gun on his son. 

In 2023, Chikei Rick Chow, 61, shot Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back after he fled Chow's convenience store in Columbia. Prosecutors said that the semiautomatic pistol Carmack-Belton had was dropped during the chase and never used to threaten anyone, the Associated Press reported. They argued that Chow acted in anger because he wrongly believed the teen had stolen four bottles of water. 

Chow's defense attorneys argued that Carmack-Belton had pointed the weapon at Chow's son, and Chow fired one shot in self-defense. 

“This case is not about a shoplifter. This case is about a father who sees a gun pointed at his son and had to make a decision,” defense attorney Shaun Kent said. 

Prosecutors told jurors that Chow chased Carmack-Belton 130 yards and multiple witnesses testified that they never saw him point a gun as he ran from the store.