PORTLAND, Oregon. — Investigators say the man suspected of burning ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington state is an experienced metalworker and may have been planning additional attacks.

Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said Wednesday that authorities believe the man who planted the incendiary devices at ballot boxes in Portland and near Vancouver, Wash., had “a wealth of experience” in metal fabrication and welding.

It is stated that the suspect is a white man aged 30-40, bald or with very short hair.

Police previously said security camera footage showed the man driving a black or dark-colored 2001 to 2004 Volvo S-60. The vehicle did not have a front license plate, but its rear license plate had unknown letters or numbers.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Below is AP’s earlier story.

Incendiary devices were found at the scene ballot box fire The “Free Gaza” message was branded in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Vancouver, Washington, this week, according to a law enforcement official.

A third device, placed in a different delivery box in Vancouver earlier this month, contained the words “Free Palestine” in addition to “Free Gaza.” investigation.

Investigators are trying to determine the person responsible and the cause of the incident Arson attacks suspectedWhich Hundreds of ballot papers were destroyed somewhere in Vancouver on Monday when the delivery box’s fire suppression system did not work as intended. Authorities are trying to figure out whether the person who left the devices actually had pro-Palestinian views or was using the message to create confusion, according to the official.

Surveillance footage captured a Volvo pulling up to a delivery box in Portland on Monday just before nearby security personnel noticed a fire inside the box, according to Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner.

An early morning fire at a distribution box in Portland was quickly extinguished thanks to a suppression system inside the box and a nearby security guard, police said. Only three of the ballot papers inside were damaged.

Greg Kimsey, the long-time elected auditor in Washington’s Clark County, which includes Vancouver, said there was also a fire extinguishing system inside the burning ballot box in Vancouver, but that system could not prevent hundreds of ballots from burning. The exact number of destroyed ballots is unknown and about 475 damaged ballots were removed from the ballot box, Kimsey said Tuesday.

On Wednesday, election staff planned to sort through the damaged ballots for information on who cast them, in the hope that those voters could be given new ballots. Kendiy urged voters who dropped their ballots into transit center ballot boxes between 11 a.m. Saturday and early Monday to contact his office for a replacement ballot.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland on Monday that enough material had been collected from the incendiary device to show that the two fires were linked and that they were linked to the Oct. 8 incendiary device found in a different trunk in Vancouver. No ballot papers were damaged in this incident.

Voters in Washington are encouraged to check the status of their ballot at: www.votewa.gov To track return status. If the returned ballot is not marked “received,” voters can print a new ballot or visit their local elections department for a new ballot, the secretary of state’s office said.

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Durkin Richer reported from Washington.