Possibly. You've certainly given me some ideas that I hadn't considered yet, like hearing loss and matter splatter.Would that work for what you envision?
What's happened is that QBG has accosted GG. Stopped him on the street or something, and has gotten very close to him. Like less than a hand's width between them. He's whispering urgently to him, but GG doesn't know QBG at all, and QBG has an Eastern European accent to boot. Someone watching from 25 feet or more away could reasonably assume that QBG was at best trying to rob GG.
BadCop is going to run up and shoot QBG, and honestly doesn't care if he hits GG. His main goal is to silence QBG, but taking out GG in the bargain wouldn't be a bad thing. He's going to justify the shooting by saying he saw a (non-existent) gun. BadCop is carrying his department-issued Glock 22 or 23 (San Diego-area law enforcement).
I've considered the angle of the shot too, but I was thinking that a contact or point-blank shot is not going to expand well because of the discharge gases entering the wound cavity, and so there might be more chance for the round to pass through (still pretty messy though).
Between this and some Google research, seems like it's completely reasonable to assume a through-and-through. Almost certainly a trip to the ER, to clean him up better, and check for injuries.
Thanks, guys.