You guys are clearly right
(last time i checked if you are stealing your not in the right frame of mind, you are a desperate person who will do what he or she has to do to get what they want)
a theif is in the house but doesnt know that anyone is there. he is there for the sole purpose of getting whatever it is that he wants and getting out without getting in trouble. So instead of letting them just take whatever(that is what home owners insurance is for) and leave, you give up your safety in an attempt to save your stuff. You say he was protecting his family but the theifs werent making any direct attempt to attack him or his sister. If that was the case then yes he should have done everything in his power to protect her but instead he could have put her in more danger by alerting the theives that there were people there and possibly causing them to make a rash decision. Luckily for him he was successful but what if he wasnt??
Then you have two kids who are beaten, raped, or dead and then hes an idiot. So if im too cautious because i value the safety of my family over saving some stuff then so be it. You stance only is valid because the kid was sucessful and how many kids do you know can take down two criminals single handedly?(no home alone references please)
Do i think criminals are scum? yes, do i think that if they were attacking my sister id be balls to the wall to protect her of course, but im not going to push someone on the edge over it to save my stuff and by doing so getting myself killed or rendered useless so i cant protect my sister.