10 months ago
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Investigations are underway aft authorities accidental incendiary devices were placed adjacent 2 ballot boxes successful Portland, Oregon, and a 3rd successful Vancouver, Washington, and utilized to commencement the fires successful the aboriginal greeting hours connected Monday.
Portland Police Bureau says the incidents were perchance connected to each different arsenic good arsenic different incidental that took spot connected Oct. 8.
“We got a telephone that indicated 1 of the ballot boxes was smoking. We recovered a instrumentality determination adjacent to the ballot box,” Vancouver constabulary officials said of the erstwhile October incident. “Today’s incidental was precise similar.”
According to Portland police, astatine astir 3:30 a.m. Monday, officers responded to reports of a occurrence astatine a ballot container connected Southeast Morrison Street, adjacent the Multnomah County Elections Division office. By the clip officers arrived, they said the occurrence had already been enactment retired by information employees who enactment successful the area.
Authorities said they recovered that an incendiary instrumentality had been placed successful the ballot container and utilized to commencement the fire.
Information astir the incidental is inactive constricted and authorities are asking anyone with accusation to interaction Portland constabulary oregon Portland Fire & Rescue.
Just fractional an hr later, Vancouver constabulary said a Clark County ballot container was besides recovered to beryllium connected fire.
When officers arrived, they said the ballot container astatine 3510 SE 164th Ave. was smoking and connected fire, and the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit arrived to cod the explosive device. Portland constabulary accidental they identified a fishy conveyance successful transportation with the Multnomah County case, which they aboriginal revealed to beryllium a Volvo.
“We don’t cognize the motive down this — these — acts. It sounds similar a bid of 3 astatine this point,” officials with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said. “We bash cognize that acts similar this are targeted and intentional.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigations is investigating each 3 incidents. Anyone with accusation is asked to interaction the FBI.
It’s unclear however galore Clark County ballots were damaged, but U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said “hundreds of ballots” were destroyed.
Police inspect the incendiary devices attached to a SE Portland ballot container (KOIN)Tim Scott, Multnomah County's elections director, said a occurrence suppressant wrong the ballot container connected Southeast Morrison helped support the ballots wrong and that lone 3 ballots were damaged.
Multnomah County's Elections Office volition interaction those voters via unsocial identifiers connected their ballot envelopes to person replacement ballots.
"We person aggregate systems and information measures successful spot to guarantee your ballot is safe," Scott said successful a statement. "Your Elections squad is moving hard to marque definite that each ballot counts."
A akin concern happened successful aboriginal October near a ballot container successful Vancouver.
In the incident, authorities said the ballot container wasn't compromised and the suspicious instrumentality was safely removed by the weaponry squad.
