A suspicious package found inside a mail drop box exploded Monday as it was being defused by a police bomb squad, authorities said.
The blast sprayed shrapnel for 100 feet, but no one was injured, FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi said.
Mark Chait, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, said he isn’t certain what was used to make the explosive device but said its remnants would be analyzed.
A mail carrier discovered the package inside the mailbox in a residential neighborhood and became alarmed by writing on its exterior.
“He didn’t like the looks of it; he didn’t like the writing on it,” Vizi said. She declined to describe the writing.
A police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said a note attached to the package said “Free Palestine” and mentioned Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network.
Investigators believe the package was placed in the box between Sunday evening and Monday morning.
