Sheriff: Columbia store owner charged with murder in shooting death of 14-year-old
In an incident Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott called “senseless,” a Columbia convenience store owner has been charged in the shooting death of a 14-year-old.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, Lott said that 58-year-old Rick Chow, owner of the Shell gas station at 7441 Parklane Road, is charged with murder in the incident. Chow was booked into Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on Monday afternoon.
Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton, of Columbia, was killed in the incident. Rutherford said Carmack-Belton died from a single gunshot wound. He was shot in the back, the coroner said.
“We have a family that is grieving, a community that is grieving, over a 14-year-old that was shot,” Lott said.
The sheriff said the incident that led to Carmack-Belton’s death began at the Shell station on Parklane Road, which is in northeast Columbia not far from Joseph Keels Elementary School. Lott called the allegations in the case “very disturbing.”
According to the sheriff, the incident happened at about 8 p.m. Sunday. Carmack-Belton went in the store, and the owners suspected him of shoplifting. However, Lott said the 14-year-old did not shoplift.
“We have no evidence that he stole anything, whatsoever,” Lott said. The sheriff said during the news conference that the teen at one point removed four water bottles from a cooler, but put them back.
An argument started inside the store, the sheriff said, and the 14-year-old took off running from the store. Chow and his son chased after him, Lott said. Chow was armed with a pistol, per the sheriff. The chase was toward the nearby Springtree Apartments off Springtree Drive.
Lott said that, during the chase, the victim fell down and got back up. At that point, Chow shot Carmack-Belton in the back, Lott said.
Lott said Carmack-Belton was thought to have been in possession of a gun during the incident. One was recovered near the teen’s body, Lott said.
“Even if (Carmack-Belton) had shoplifted four bottles of water, which is what he initially took out of the cooler and then he put them back, even if he had done that, that’s not something you shoot anybody over, much less a 14-year-old,” Lott said. “You just don’t do that.”
Rutherford said Carmack-Belton died from a single gunshot wound to his right lower back. She said the gunshot wound caused hemorrhaging, as well as significant damage to the teen’s heart.
The coroner said the teen’s injuries are consistent with someone who was running away from his assailants.
“We are confident that this was done in a manner that we will now classify as a homicide,” Rutherford said. “This was not an accidental shooting by any means. This was a very intentional shooting and unfortunately Cyrus Carmack-Belton lost his life.”
The sheriff said deputies investigated multiple aspects of the case between the Sunday night incident and the Monday afternoon news conference.
“We had to talk to the witnesses, get statements,” Lott said. “We had to talk to the coroner to tell us exactly where this young man was shot. If he had been shot in the front (of his body) and he was armed with a gun it would be a different story. But the fact he was shot in the back, we had to wait on that (from the coroner).
“We had to look at the whole case, not part of it. The fact that the young man allegedly had a gun on him, did he point it at (Chow)? Did he threaten (the owners) with it? If he had done any of that, then this shooting may have been justified. That’s what we had to determine.”
Lott told The State Monday afternoon that the sheriff’s department investigation found that Carmack-Belton did not point a gun at Chow.
On Monday afternoon, a peaceful crowd of about 70 people had gathered in the parking lot of the Shell station.
But later Monday night, the sheriff’s department said a crowd was dispersed from the Shell gas station after protests turned destructive.
At about 9:30 p.m., deputies said they responded to an alarm that signaled there was a break-in at the convenience store. When they arrived at the scene, deputies found shattered windows and a large crowd of people inside the store stealing merchandise, according to the sheriff’s department.
“This type of criminal behavior will not be tolerated,” Lott said in a news release. “Individuals involved will be identified and prosecuted.”
No arrests have been reported, but the sheriff’s department said the investigation is ongoing.
One Common Cause Community Control Initiative, a local activism group that has spoken out against violence particularly in north Columbia, posted on social media calling for a boycott of Chow’s store.
This story was originally published May 29, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
