@meghannmcuniff: The son of a South Carolina gas station owner who shot and killed a teenager in 2023 testified today he was "terrified" the boy was going to shoot him. Andy Chow was the first defense witness for Rick Chow, who is charged with murder for fatally shooting 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton on May 28, 2023. The 23-year-old said he suspected the boy stole bottled water from the convenience store at his parents' Shell gas station in Columbia. Witnesses said the boy didn't display his 9 mm firearm, but Chow testified this morning that he saw the gun pointed at him and "I thought he was going to shoot me." "Did you think you're going to die?" asked his father's lawyer Shaun Kent. "Yes," Chow answered. "Why?" Kent asked. "Because, uh, I saw the barrel just pointed straight at me," Chow answered. "You actually described the barrel, didn't you?" Kent asked. "Yes, sir," Chow answered. "How did you describe the barrel of the weapon that was pointed at you on that day?" Kent asked. "I said it was a silver barrel, and the rest of it was black," Chow answered.' Earlier in the exam, Kent asked Chow "why in the world" he thought Cyrus stole something. "Because of what happened in the store," Chow answered. He said he thought Cyrus "pocketed something" near the water cooler "and I asked him if he had anything in his pocket." "He kept his hands in his pocket, and I saw his fingers kind of pushing against the hoodie pocket to try to hide what was in there, and then when he goes out the door with his hands not in the pocket, I see something heavy just weigh down, and so in my mind I, I really, I believed he had stolen something," Chow answered. Chow said he "didn't have to" go outside after Cyrus. "Were you trying to hurt this kid? Did you know him?" Kent asked. "No, sir," Chow answered. "Were you chasing him to hurt him?" Kent asked. "No, sir," Chow answered. "What in the world were you gonna do if you actually caught up to him?" Kent asked. “I didn't plan to catch up to him," Chow answered. "What do you mean you didn't plan to catch up with him? We've seen the videos, you're going out there. What do you mean you didn't plan to catch up with him? Did you have a plan?" Kent asked. "I just wanted to get to see where he was going to tell the police later," Chow answered. You can watch Chow testify about the shooting here m @Meghann Cuniff, and you can watch his entire testimony on my YouTube channel. #law #crime #court

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Friday 29 May 2026 18:41:26 GMT