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Putting aside for a moment the question of intent, what constitutes a certainty that the threat has been stopped? Seems like that could be a pretty subjective thing to assess, especially when under a great deal of stress and adrenaline. If they're still on their feet but their weapon is no longer aimed at you, are they still a threat? If they're sitting on the ground, or lying on their side, but still have the weapon in their hand and can still bring it to bear, are they still a threat? There are countless stories of people who were shot multiple times and were still able to maintain an attack.
Shooting to stop the threat implies that at some point you had to make a judgement whether a threat still existed. There are cases where it's obvious; if they're lying face down, bleeding out on your floor and not moving, it's probably safe to say the threat has ended. If they're sitting up against a wall, seriously - and maybe fatally - wounded, but they're conscious and still have the gun in their control, what do you do? Keep them covered and fire at them again if they make a move toward you? Wouldn't that look like you were 'finishing them off', even though you were still responding to a perceived threat and not with the intent to kill?
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