Yeah, breaking into a home by breaking a window with a crowbar isn't provocative in any way....
Only in Crazyland, that is.
In stories like this, it's frequently (yet, not always) true that what's left out of the story is more relevant that what's in the story. As you probably know, people lie all the time. And people are considerably more likely to lie if and when they have something to hide that could get them in big trouble. So, why is this woman going to hide in the attack when she has a gun? Perhaps she didn't know if he was armed? Perhaps there's more to the story than what was written about (which wasn't much).
Did they know one another? Why would he break into this house if he knew someone was home since breaking in was likely to result in the occupant calling the police, at least. Did she cry out that she had a gun? (wouldn't you do so if you thought that it might make the person leave?) Wouldn't the person hear (and perhaps even see) the woman and her kids running to the attic? And if he did, why would he still break in?
Perhaps there's nothing further to the story that's significant. But it seems suspicious that there's so much about the story that defies an explanation that makes sense given the sparse details included in the story.