A shoulder shot can mean the guy stays conscious and can still be a threat. It was actually stupid of him not to do center of mass. To be as certain as possible the threat is neutralized.
That said, I’m glad his response was to take the thugs on head on and deal with them. But if you have to use a gun you don’t shoot to injure, sorry, that ain’t right.
Largest target = center of mass = best chance of a hit. Don't get fancy when the panic's on.
Legal: you never shoot to kill. You shoot to stop the threat. The fact that that will probably result in death is an unfortunate side effect. And you'll be better off in court that way, both because it doesn't look as bloodthirsty and because there will be only one story told in court.