It's much more safe for a law abiding citizen to assume that all thieves are armed, because they most likely are.
replyBurglars in particular tend to target empty houses precisely to avoid confrontation. To bring a weapon only make sense if there is a chance of getting shot at.
replyThat’s awful, it’s terrible that the thieves fear for their lives so much that they arm themselves
replyThey frequently already are. Even here in Canada[1] where any kind of "carry" is generally not allowed. Shockingly, thieves often don't care about gun laws though.
reply[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-police-cash-r...