I don't know if I feel sympathy, exactly. But it's a ****ty life for many, and this is a particularly ****ty financial time. Without sufficient financial or educational resources, and without people around you teaching and demonstrating good ethics, I can imagine it would be pretty difficult to resist the urge to steal.
Peaceful resistance might lead to your death, but on the other hand, aggressive resistance like his might also. I wish everyone had the impulse to
give their mugger their coat, because I'd much rather try to end up with both people alive instead of one of the parties dead. Much like Chekhov's Gun rule, introduce one in the first act and somebody's going to get shot.
He shot them in the back. They were running away. I just don't think property or objects are worth a human life, even if that human is stealing it.