Exactly. A pistol is primarily a defensive weapon.
Those folks at the newspaper had to know they were a potential target. What kind of security measures did they have in place, I wonder?
I’m posting from memory [probably not a great idea] but I recall reading this about the CH security. It was quite good, with coded locks, etc. However, the attackers told one of the women they would kill her child if she didn’t let them in. She felt she had no choice.