Anti-tank system found on lawn near lower Manhattan

An old anti-tank missile launcher was found Friday on a lawn in Jersey City, just across the river from lower Manhattan.

The launcher was inoperable and posed no hazard, police said. They turned it over to Army officials at Fort Monmouth.

Army personnel identified the yard-(meter-)long tube as an AT-4 anti-tank missile launcher, said fort spokesman Timothy Rider. Such launchers can only be used once to fire a missile, and soldiers determined that this launcher had been fired, he said.

"It can never be reloaded, but it still has the mechanism that can be useful for training," Rider said, explaining that soldiers can learn to carry it on their shoulder and take aim.

Police and Army officials are investigating how the device ended up on the lawn. Officials said it appeared to be about 20 years old.