Yep, the glass actually exploded. I read about it on the internet, it's a thing, and I'm pretty sure it's because of the manufacturing process. I cleaned most of it, but there is still "glass dust" in some places I forgot and in fabrics. I have another shelf like that, I should consider putting some kind of protection layer on it like on phone screens. Furniture is dangerous.
"The glass did not simply crack, it shattered explosively. The breakage was never a crack that progressed into pieces of glass tinkling to the floor. One minute the glass was completely intact; the next minute it was fragmented into minute pieces, and the noise of the shattering was very loud—sometimes described as deafening."