I want to add my two cents for what it's worth. First of all good to be back among the living after a long illness.
What grabbed my attention was the 357 LCR. I used to carry a 357 snubby but began carrying std pressure 38's. While serving as a juror on a grand jury we heard a case involving self defense. Details on the SD shooting were sketchy at best. Good guy shot a bad guy and was cleared as being justified. The good guy however was indicted for a serious assault charge despite mine and another no vote. Bullet went through the bad guy and struck a woman that was in no way involved with the incident. We were told woman had surgery and an overnight hospital stay. I asked cop what kind of gun, he responded 357 and before cop could finish. The prosecutor shut him up and gave me the "this is not CSI" lecture. The cop was not allowed to answer questions in regards to the SD incident.
I have no idea of the final disposition of the case and can only assume after the indictment the good guy had to deal with a serious assault charge.
That night I removed the 357's from my carry gun and began carrying 38's. The laws on stray bullets likely vary state to state. In Arizona despite being a justified shooting the shooter sent a blank check to the innocent woman. As the OP mentioned, crowds or gangs and even if it is a justifiable shooting. The over penetrating bullet could easily buy the shooter some jail time and being tagged for life as a convicted felon and prohibited possessor.
IMHO, the bad guy should shoulder the responsibility but at least in Arizona the good guy likely spent a small fortune in legal fees. Hopefully he had the financial resources, a good lawyer and beat the assault charge.
Lately I've been carrying 380 SilverTips or 9MM Mak HP's. Being a wheel gun guy when I do carry a revolver, it's std velocity lead 38's. I'm going to look into the Charter Arms Pug chambered in 45 Colt. I'll load it with a big heavy slug but keep the velocity mild.