A former soldier has been charged with illegally possessing a live
anti-tank round at his home in Tacoma, Washington, causing the
evacuation of a nearby elementary school and an order for nearby
residents to lock down inside their homes.
According to charges filed in Pierce County Superior Court, Tracy
Worwood, 44, kept an AT-4 anti-tank rocket at his home, saying it was
given to him as a going away present when he left the Army.
Charges state that Worwood claimed he didn't know it was live, and
potentially deadly.
The AT-4 is designed to be fired from a shoulder-mounted weapon,
penetrate armor, and destroy a tank.
Tacoma police, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and soldiers from a US Army explosives disposal team swarmed around Worwood’s home on Wednesday after federal authorities were notified about the round. According to a probable cause affidavit the projectile, designed to fire from a shoulder mounted weapon and pierce armor, “pierced a 3/5 inch thick steel plate” in a protective container when it was destroyed by a bomb squad.
The discovery of the explosive sparked a massive lock down and
evacuation in the neighborhood where Worwood lives. Students at
Sheridan elementary school were hustled onto buses and residents told to
stay indoors until it was safe.
The affidavit states
Worwood had the rocket since he left the Army on an "other than honorable" discharge in 2005 and recently put it on his roof for safe keeping after his son found it.
Worwood pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally possessing explosives and reckless endangerment. He was freed without bail.
Tacoma police, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and soldiers from a US Army explosives disposal team swarmed around Worwood’s home on Wednesday after federal authorities were notified about the round. According to a probable cause affidavit the projectile, designed to fire from a shoulder mounted weapon and pierce armor, “pierced a 3/5 inch thick steel plate” in a protective container when it was destroyed by a bomb squad.
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