A package that reportedly exploded on Tuesday evening after being opened at Northeastern University is said to have contained a note criticizing Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and virtual reality.
Authorities in Boston said a 45-year-old man who opened the package, which was sent to the university’s virtual reality center, received minor injuries including lacerations to the hands.
“At about 7:18 PM, Officers responded to 39 Leon Street (Northeastern University) in Boston for a report of a package that had exploded,” a press release from the Boston Police Department states. “Upon arrival, Officers located a 45-year-old male suffering from minor injuries to his hand. The male was transported to a local area hospital for further treatment and evaluation.”
Police further noted that a second package was located and rendered safe without further incident by the department’s bomb squad.
Sources speaking with CNN later stated that the package, which was actually a hard plastic case, had not been sent to the lab through the postal service. FBI bomb technicians also reportedly found no evidence that the case contained explosives but instead depressurized with the force of an explosion after it was opened.
The note, which has been described as “rambling,” criticized not only Zuckerberg and virtual reality but the ties between academia and the technology’s development as well. Further details on the alleged note have not been released at this time.
The incident comes in the wake of Zuckerberg’s decision to rebrand Facebook as Meta. The company’s focus has seemingly switched from its controversial social media platform to the Metaverse, an immersive digital world based on virtual and augmented reality.
Multiple law enforcement agencies deemed the campus safe as of Wednesday morning.