South Carolina law enforcement disclosed on Wednesday that the store owner who fatally shot a 14-year-old boy who was wrongly suspected of shoplifting had previously k!lled a shoplifter and fired shots at the vehicle of another shoplifter, both of whom were caught.
“Conduct in the above incidents did not meet the requirements under South Carolina law to support criminal charges,” the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday, explaining why Rick Chow, now 58, was never charged in those circumstances. Chow has been charged with m*rder for allegedly tracking down Cyrus Carmack-Belton on Sunday and shooting him to de@th.
Chow’s Xpress Mart Shell station in Columbia has had hundreds of calls for help from police over the past five years. Assaults, thefts, shoplifting, vehicle thefts, vandalism, robberies, and break-ins are just some of the calls they’ve fielded.
Chow challenged a woman on May 4, 2015, for shoplifting two cases of Bud Light and a container of cooked peanuts. A redacted incident report states that the woman threatened to shoot the store owner during their altercation outside the store. Chow grabbed the drink and the bag of peanuts from the woman’s purse.
The lady left, getting into her car. Chow drew a Glock pistol, fired perhaps six shots through the passenger side window. According to the report, the incident did not result in any injuries. On October 12, 2018, Chow allegedly shot a shoplifter.
It was reported that the shoplifter had concealed a can of oven cleaner, which retails for $6.49, in his clothing. After being confronted by the gas station owner, the shoplifter att@cked Chow. Chow fired twice, hitting the man in the leg each times. The shoplifter eventually entered a guilty plea in connection with the theft.
Although Chow’s identity is blacked out, CBS News’ investigation of the event reports confirms that the store’s owner was the shooter in both occasions. The Richland County Sheriff’s Office has determined that Chow was the shooter in both incidents. The previous events, according to the authorities, were acts of self-defense.
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Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County stated at a press conference that the shooting that occurred on Sunday was completely unjustified. Lott argued that a 14-year-old shouldn’t be shot over the theft of four water bottles, saying, “Even if he had shoplifted four bottles of water, which he had taken out of the cooler and then put back, that’s not something you should shoot anybody over.”
A firearm was discovered near Carmack-Belton’s body, but Lott stressed there was no evidence the youngster had ever pointed the weapon at Chow or Chow’s son, who had joined his father in pursuing the teen before the shooting.
According to Richland County Coroner Nadia Rutherford, there was no evidence that Carmack-Belton and Chow got into a fight in the store before the youngster fled. She said the teen had been shot in the right lower back, which ultimately proved fatal. Carmack-Belton’s heart and blood vessels were severely damaged by the shot.
The following tweet confirms the report:
Years before he allegedly killed a 14-year-old boy wrongly suspected of shoplifting, a South Carolina gas station convenience store owner shot a shoplifter and opened fire on the vehicle of another shoplifter in separate encounters, officials said. https://t.co/mbnNjoukN6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 1, 2023
“It seems to be consistent with someone who was running away from the assailant,” Richland County Coroner Nadia Rutherford said. “This is not an accidental shooting by any means. This was a very intentional shooting.” CBS News contacted Chow’s lawyer for comment. A representative for the company declined to comment on the situation.
The family’s attorney, Todd Rutherford, issued a statement on the shooting on Wednesday. “What happened to him wasn’t an accident: it’s something that the Black community has experienced for generations: being racially profiled, then shot down in the street like a dog,” Rutherford said.
“Words can’t describe the pain I feel, having known this family for decades. One beacon of hope is seeing the resilience of the Black community as they wrap their arms around this family that has joined the club that no Black family ever wants to be a part of,”he added.
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