Your response is out of line. Yes, you brought up some valid points, but the OP's wife did use good common sense and you need to apologize for your last comment.
There is no one simple answer to all situations. But when police response can be hours, if ever, hiding inside with kids can be the wrong answer. Most thieves like this are looking for easy pickings and they found out that this was not what they were looking for.
Ken
Ahh Sorry Ken but I stand by my comments 100%. Confronting ANYONE is stupid PERIOD. Yes the wife came out on the good side, but due to luck ONLY. There are a millions ways that situation could have gone wrong.
Since you now anyone else has question that fact that there COULD HAVE BEEN someone else that the wife was unaware I accept your apology.
Common sense says DO NOT go to the enemy let the enemy come to you.
I will repeat it here. The wife was completely unaware of what the "enemy" was up to , was unaware of how many there were, unaware what weapon the did or didn't have.
So she had a piston - BIG DEAL against an AK47. Even if she was Annie Oakley, she's still going to be injured. ...oh ya and remember we still don't know HOW MANY "perps" there were/are, did we?
So being so unaware of so many crucial facts what she did was irresponsible. With a Capital I.
Someone else trying to justify her irresponsibility said "she put herself between the bad guys and the kids so the kids could run" .....RUN WHERE into the arms of the OTHER BAD GUYS at the back door. Again she was clueless about everything but the fact there was "someone" in the driveway.
Again she used NO COMMON SENSE.
There isn't a tactician on the planet that would agree with her technique. Not military, not Police, not anyone.
Maybe this will help. Woman walks up to strange vehicle with a gun, and doesn't know what the vehicle is there for, how many people are in the vehicle, how many people got out of the vehicle and are surrounding her as she walks up, how many weapons they have, if there is a sniper / look out in the distance that was dropped off pointing at her head with a high powered sniper rifle.....Do you want me to go on?
All that sound like Common Sense to me.