VANCOUVER, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com, AP) – Incendiary devices found at the scene of ballot drop box fires in Portland and nearby Vancouver this week were marked with the message “Free Gaza” and investigators believe the suspect may be planning more attacks.

Portland police spokesman Mike Benner says officers will be watching out for suspicious activity near drop boxes, but there are limits as to what they can do.

Benner adds that investigators believe the suspect is an experienced metal worker.

Authorities describe the suspect as a white man between 30 and 40 years of age who is either balding or has very short hair.

Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to a drop box in Portland just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, Oct. 28.

The early-morning fire at the drop box in Portland, which only damaged three ballots, was extinguished quickly thanks to a suppression system inside the box as well as a nearby security guard. The fire suppression system in Vancouver’s ballot box did not function.

Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said that the exact number of destroyed ballots wasn’t known, but about 475 damaged ballots had been retrieved from the box.

Election staff plan to sort through the damaged ballots for information about who cast them, in the hopes that those voters can be given replacement ballots.

Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn has told My Bellingham Now that no added security has been in place since these attacks in Clark County. Henthorn says that ballots are picked up every day and fire suppressant is already placed in each ballot drop box. She adds that Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies and local authorities have increased patrols near designated drop boxes.

 

Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information provided by the Associated Press on Oct. 30 at 4:22 p.m.