Rick Chow, a convenience store owner in Columbia, South Carolina has been charged with murder after shooting 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton. The store owner thought the boy had stolen something, but police say that he did not. The boy had taken water bottles out of the cooler and placed them back.
The store owner confronted the boy over the shoplifting allegation and wound up chasing him out of the store. During this process, Chow produced a weapon and shot Carmack-Belton in the back, killing him. A gun was found near the boy’s body, but there is no evidence that he brandished the weapon at the store owner.
There is, of course, a racial component to this case. Chow is Asian and Cyrus Carmack-Belton was black. There has been a ton of videos displaying black-on-Asian violence that has been happening all over the country crowding platforms like Twitter. A few years back, the “Stop Asian Hate” movement was in full swing.
Now, the black community is expressing grievance from their perspective, bringing up cases like Latasha Harlins from Los Angeles. Protesters almost immediately gathered in front of Rick Chow’s store before the arrest. They broke out in thunderous cheers and applause when they found out he had been arrested and charged with murder.
SOURCES:
Columbia convenience store owner charged with murder in shooting death of 14-year-old boy
Cyrus Carmack-Belton shooting: A convenience store owner who shot a 14-year-old boy in the back has been charged with murder, South Carolina authorities say | CNN
CNN on Twitter: “A South Carolina convenience store owner has been charged with murder after allegedly chasing a 14-year-old boy and shooting him in the back after suspecting the boy of shoplifting, authorities said. https://t.co/trh5BQ0fqt” / Twitter
