The robber was smart enough (or maybe stupid enough?) to demand the car keys but not the car. He threw the keys a distance away presumably so the victims could not follow him in their car. Then things got messy. Firing a weapon into a motor vehicle under any circumstance is reckless in my view. Earls should have been charged with something.
He will now try to defend his actions in a civil action that will destroy him just the same. Shooting without knowing what you are shooting at is “no bueno” even in Texas but the fact that the robber apparently shot at him may mitigate this somewhat.
I agree. In my CHL class (in Houston) I was taught that collateral damage is on the shooter.