A Philadelphia man was hospitalized this morning after a piece of mail exploded in his face, and authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the attack was a hate crime.

According to CBS News, sixty year old Jim Alden opened a package that he believed to be a new medical inhaler, and it exploded, spraying his hands, face, and upper body with shrapnel. Authorities did not confirm whether the package was in his mailbox or on his door step, but they did say that the bar code on the package was old, so therefore likely did not arrive via post office delivery. They have also confirmed that the package was specifically addressed to Alden.

A Philadelphia man was hospitalized this morning after a piece of mail exploded in his face, and authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the attack was a hate crime.

According to CBS News, sixty year old Jim Alden opened a package that he believed to be a new medical inhaler, and it exploded, spraying his hands, face, and upper body with shrapnel. Authorities did not confirm whether the package was in his mailbox or on his door step, but they did say that the bar code on the package was old, so therefore likely did not arrive via post office delivery. They have also confirmed that the package was specifically addressed to Alden.

Little has been reported about Alden or why this would qualify for hate crime designation, but he did have a rainbow “Love Trumps Hate” sign beside his mailbox, and a local LGBT rights group has responded to the attack. Read more