Store owner acquitted in teen shooting

A South Carolina jury has found a store owner not guilty of murder in the 2023 shooting of a Black 14-year-old

1. Frame 1In South Carolina court, jurors rule Chikei Rick Chow not guilty, ending the murder trial over Cyrus Carmack-Belton's shooting.
2. Frame 2The shooting followed a chase from Chow's Columbia convenience store after prosecutors said the teen was wrongly suspected of taking water.
3. Frame 3Prosecutors said Carmack-Belton's gun fell during the chase; defense lawyers said Chow fired to protect his son.
4. Frame 4The verdict ended the murder charge, but family members cried in court and rejected the jury's decision.
5. Frame 5Richland County's Black community had protested the killing; nearly half the county's population is Black.
6. Frame 6Attorney Todd Rutherford said the family will pursue a civil lawsuit, shifting pressure from verdict to damages.