A janitor flagged down police yesterday after finding what is described as an explosive device in a trash can. From Yesterday’s NY Post:

June 14, 2007 — Cops had a missile crisis on their hands yesterday when a Bronx janitor found an explosive device in a trash can, authorities said.

Building superintendent Alex Gonzales was dumping garbage at about 7:30 a.m. from in front of his building on Boston Road in Morrisania when he found a small rocket bomb buried beneath a couple of bags of trash.

Against his better judgment, Gonzales lifted the 15-inch missile and inspected it before reporting the scary discovery.

“I noticed on the bottom it had some letters and numbers on it,” Gonzales said. “That’s when I put it down.”

Fortunately, a police car happened by and Gonzales flagged down the officer.

The cop wisely backed away when he looked in the trash bin and immediately called the Bomb Squad.

A 15 in Rocket with numbers on the end sounds alot like a model rocket to me. Something like this. However it hasn’t been confirmed it isn’t some sort of RPG, but in NYC where a black market handgun can cost a would be terrorist more than $1000, it’s unlikely a military weapon would be thrown away so causally.

Model rockets are easily weaponized however, with a little black powder and some ball bearings, so it’s something to keep in mind if you see anyone suspicious partaking in this unusual hobby. Making model rockets that explode in flight is so easy a child could do at, as this video proves:

[youtube]qZmMaW0Xzwc[/youtube]