New details are emerging about incendiary devices placed at ballot boxes early Monday in Portland and Vancouver, Washington.

On Wednesday, Portland police released their first description of a suspect at a news conference. Agency spokesman Mike Benner said the person is believed to be a white male, between 30 and 40 years old, with short hair or bald, a thin to medium build, a thin face and wearing a dark shirt.

“We believe this suspect has a wealth of experience in metal fabrication and welding,” Benner said. “It is entirely possible that the suspect will continue targeted attacks throughout the area.”

Benner said police believe the same person is involved in both incidents Monday, as well as a third incident that occurred Oct. 8 in Vancouver where the incendiary device did not go off.

Police are looking for a black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60 seen at the scene of the Portland fire. The car had no front license plate, making it difficult to identify.

The incidents – just days before the 2024 election – have raised security concerns. Law Enforcement, together with companies and local officialsprepare for the possibility of unrest, but also urge calm regardless of the outcome.

In September, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials sent an intelligence letter to states warning that social media posts over the past six months promoted the destruction of ballot boxes during the 2024 election cycle.

“Election infrastructure remains an attractive target for some domestic violent extremists and other threat actors with election-related grievances seeking to disrupt the democratic process and election operations,” the letter states.

Methods included the use of street flares, white phosphorus and agricultural machinery to damage ballot boxes, which the bulletin described as “soft targets” because they are widely accessible.

“Some social media users recommended posing as an ideological opponent and wearing clothing and masks associated with ‘antifa,’” the intelligence bulletin said. It also noted that similar threats occurred during the 2020 and 2022 elections, and that “states with more ballot boxes may be more at risk.”

Related: Ballot boxes are still safe for voting despite arsons in Portland and Vancouver, election officials say

Oregon and Washington are primarily vote-by-mail states where voters return their ballots by mail or drop-off locations.

Election officials in Vancouver have stepped up security at the ballot boxes, emphasizing that they are secure and that mail-in ballots will be collected earlier in the day.

The damaged one polling stations in both states were equipped with fire suppression systems that respond to temperature peaks.

In Portland those buses worked. Only three of the hundreds of ballots were damaged.

In Vancouver, that system appeared to be malfunctioning and 488 ballots were damaged. Clark County election officials said in a news release Wednesday that 345 voters have already contacted the elections office to request a replacement ballot. Six ballots were unidentifiable, officials said, and others “may have been completely burned to ashes and therefore unidentifiable.”

The FBI said in a statement this week that it was working with local, state and other federal law enforcement agencies “to actively investigate the incidents” and “determine who is responsible.”

“It’s an extremist act,” said Renn Cannon, former special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. “There are a lot of different extremist groups, extremist ideologies under which I could see this being appropriate, where someone who subscribes to that ideology could see this as a logical action.”

At Wednesday’s news conference in Portland, police declined to provide details on a possible motive for the attacks.

Cannon said investigators will look at everything from social media posts to tips and surveillance footage. The devices themselves are also an important piece of evidence.

“Devices that are built by humans sometimes have signatures, and so there is a database of electronic devices that can be analyzed,” Cannon said, “to see if that matches certain techniques that are known to be associated with a specific person or group.”

‘I don’t lie awake at night worrying about next week’

Despite the manhunt, officials from across the region tried to strike a confident tone heading into Election Day by outlining their plans to allow peaceful protests while keeping violence to a minimum.

In the wake of the 2020 protests, Portland Police Chief Bob Day said at the news conference that the city’s response to the results will capture the nation’s attention.

“Everyone is watching Portland — still to this day, four years later — everyone wants to know how we’re going to show up,” Day said.

He and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler were flanked by more than a dozen heads of local agencies, including Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and Doug Olson, the special agent in charge of the state’s office. FBI in Portland.

City officials said they plan to implement an emergency command response next week. Police officers have canceled days off for the week, Day said, putting the spotlight on more rank-and-file officers.

Portland Police Bureau spokesman Benner later said the Gresham, Lake Oswego and Port of Portland police departments will be ready to take 911 calls elsewhere in the city if Portland police have concerns.

Still, questions remain about preparedness. At a recent meeting of local law enforcement, Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell warned about that The county’s jails are near full capacity.

Morrisey O’Donnell said Wednesday that the prison is considering sending incarcerated people to other jurisdictions if necessary. She also said she and others will “evaluate the grip on where people are in their enclosure.”

The agency heads – as well as Andrew Hoan, president and CEO of the Portland Business Alliance and Portland Metro Chamber – took turns on stage to highlight the collaborative approach. Wheeler said they have been preparing for “several specific scenarios” for months.

Asked whether Portland officials communicated their plans to federal agents after making headlines in 2020 for pulling protesters off the streets into unmarked vans, Day said there was no particular communication.

“We work with our federal partners on a regular basis, but not out of a request to have additional law enforcement officers on site,” Day said. “We are not asking for a repeat of that behavior starting in 2020.”

Day later noted that as much as he felt the city was approaching “a moment” to showcase a unified Portland, he wasn’t concerned.

“Folks, I don’t lie awake at night worrying about next week,” Day said. “I think next week is our time.”