From experience I say best to wait them out. Keep them calm so no one else gets hurt. That is the desired end result. Going in guns a blazing is a bad idea. It causes the perpetrators to react against the hostages.
You might be right. But if that’s the right approach when gunmen have hostages, it’s hard to imagine how going in with guns blazing could possibly be the right strategy for someone’s home, when there is suspected to be a bag of white powder inside, but no innocent lives are at risk.