COLUMBIA — A South Carolina jury heard opening statements on May 27, 2026, in the murder trial of Chikei Rick Chow, who is charged in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton during a foot chase in Columbia on May 28, 2023. Chow, 61, shot Carmack-Belton in the back after pursuing him from an Xpress Mart Shell station store.

Carmack-Belton had entered the store around 8 p.m. wearing a hoodie and carrying a backpack, which he left at the front per store policy. He took four bottles of water from a cooler and then put them back. The Chows watched him with suspicion, and an argument occurred at the front of the store when Carmack-Belton denied stealing water. He then grabbed his backpack and left, prompting Chow and his son Andy to follow him.

Carmack-Belton ran during the chase, lost a shoe, and fell multiple times over a distance of about 130 yards before Chow shot him in the back. A semiautomatic pistol was found near the teen’s body, but prosecutors said he never directed it at anyone. Prosecutor Byron E. Gipson stated that the pistol fell on the ground during the chase and Carmack-Belton never threatened anyone with it.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what is the value of a human life? To grieving parents who lost a 14-year-old to senseless acts of violence, a human life is priceless. But on May 28, 2023, Chikei Rick Chow, the defendant in this case, determined that Cyrus Carmack-Belton's life was worth less than four bottles of water," Gipson said. "Folks it’s for that senseless act, for that ridiculous act, for that heinous act, that Chikei Rick Chow, the defendant in this case, has been charged and indicted for the crime of murder."

Defense lawyer Jack Swerling argued that Carmack-Belton had pointed a pistol equipped with a laser sight at Andy Chow, placing him in danger. "If he didn’t have that weapon, he never would have had a weapon to draw on Andy Chow. He never would have had a weapon to put Andy Chow in danger. And he never would have had a weapon that would cause Mr. Chow to believe his son was going to be shot and have to make a split-second decision — a split-second decision — as to whether or not to go ahead and fire that gun and protect his son," Swerling said. "It’s sad. It's tragic. There’s no question about that. My heart goes out to the family. They suffered a tremendous loss."

Swerling also said Chow felt he had no choice but to shoot and that his subsequent performance of CPR shows he acted without malice, a required element for murder under South Carolina law. After opening statements, a police officer who responded to the scene became the first witness to testify. The trial is expected to last several days.