[MLeake]

Since this occurred in baggage claim, outside the TSA area, it's entirely possible that the BG's could have been armed - assuming they were not traveling, but had gone to ATL specifically to commit robberies and thefts. They could also be assured that passengers would not be armed.

Just thinking about it, I wonder why we don't read about more of these incidents occurring. Travelers very often carry cash - my friend was robbed of $200, not sure where the $100 estimate came from in a couple of posts in this thread. He was quite frankly very happy they didn't take his credit cards, blackberry, or laptop, but as somebody noted it may be that crooks know that cash is untraceable, whereas the other items can be traced.

One tip the military gave us some years back, that could be useful for this sort of scenario: carry a throwaway wallet or money clip, and keep the rest of your items in an interior pocket or money belt. You could even make the throwaway look better by putting an expired card in it - I doubt crooks take the time to check dates when they are trying to make a quick score.

I'm not sure I like a stall over a urinal - on the one hand, it limits the BG's access to you, but on the other it limits your own situational awareness. IE, what is lurking outside the door when you come out of the stall? Seems like sort of a trade-off, to me. Granted, there are times when the stall is the only option, either due to building layout or physiological necessity. I'm just not sure that one is tactically superior to another - with the exception that your back is covered while in the stall.

Ok, so maybe the stall does have a slight advantage. I'd still recommend checking for feet in vicinity prior to opening the door.

With regard to size estimates of the BG's, my friend is 6'1" / 230lbs, and he thought both the guys were a lot bigger than him. It's safe to say they were at least 6'4", even if we assume victim goggles making them larger than life. Note also that while my friend is older than me, he isn't elderly by any means, and he's not small - yet he was still selected, most likely because a) he was isolated, and b) he was unaware.

I asked my friend about fingerprinting the money clip (good suggestion, thanks). He almost kicked himself; now he's annoyed that he didn't think of it, and that the APD officer didn't suggest it.

With regard to the risk of pulling a firearm in the men's room (assuming it had been legal to carry - so in theory only): My concerns would have been, in this order: 1) A weapon may already be trained on me, or possibly two weapons; 2) Any miss is likely to go through walls into a crowded space.

I really don't worry too much about turning around only to have the guy disarm me, but then I have a background in wrestling, aikido, and arnis. I'm not quite confident enough to say that if you can take it before I can pull the trigger, you can have my pistol, but I'm not very far from that level of confidence. I do train at weapon retention and weapon takeaways, and highly recommend retention training to anybody who CCW's.

Thanks for all the food for thought. Feel free to keep it coming.