Escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante now armed with rifle stolen from home: Live updates

Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante, who has been on the run in Pennsylvania for nearly two weeks, stole a firearm from a homeowner's open garage and remains on the loose in communities being warned to stay inside and keep doors locked.

At a news conference early Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Cavalcante stole a .22 caliber rifle – equipped with a flashlight and scope – from the garage of a Chester County home around 10 p.m. EDT Monday.

The homeowner saw Cavalcante, drew a pistol and fired at the fugitive. Bivens said there's no evidence to suggest Cavalcante was struck by the multiple shots.

"I think he was probably looking for a place to hide, ran for that garage, saw the firearm, grabbed that, encountered the homeowner and fled with the firearm,” Bivens said.

The homeowner called police, but Cavalcante had fled by the time officers arrived. Near the driveway, authorities found a green sweatshirt and white T-shirt believed to have belonged to Cavalcante. He was seen in a similar sweatshirt on surveillance video over the weekend.

"Cavalcante is considered armed and extremely dangerous,” Bivens said.

Visual story Track manhunt for fugitive Danelo Cavalcante with maps

At the time of his escape Aug. 31, Cavalcante was waiting to be transferred from county to state prison to serve a life sentence for stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, to death in front of her two children in 2021. Cavalcante, a Brazilian national and former agricultural worker, is also wanted in the murder of a 20-year-old man over a car repair debt in his native country in 2017.

New search perimeter is set up

Police set up a new perimeter stretching several miles in each direction from the location of the shooting and began searching there overnight into Tuesday. At least 500 law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies were involved in the manhunt across the heavily wooded and hilly terrain, Bivens said, and more units were being brought in.

“It will take a long time to clear that entire area,” he said, “but we will continue until we do locate him.”

Cavalcante's encounter with the homeowner occurred in South Coventry Township, a rural area in northern Chester County, not far from where Cavalcante ditched a van he had stolen over the weekend. The area is roughly 20 miles north of the prison Cavalcante fled and the area where police had focused their search.

Residents in South Coventry Township were warned overnight to "lock all doors and windows, secure vehicles, and remain indoors," a social media post from the Pennsylvania State Police said.

Fugitive's presence heightens locals' stress to pandemic levels

Kneehigh Farm, a local business close to the scene of Cavalcante’s sighting and firearm theft Monday night, is closing its doors as long as the escapee is at large in the area, the owner told USA TODAY Tuesday.

Safety concerns and widespread road closures pushed Emma de Long to close her farm this week after reports of Cavalcante’s sightings reached her town of Pottstown.

“I don’t feel like he’s on a serial-killing rampage. I feel like he’s trying to steal a vehicle and leave,” de Long said, adding that she has been diligent about locking vehicles the last few days. “We live in the rural area, and we’re not used to locking our doors or locking our cars.”

As a local business owner with a small child, de Long said the stress of the last few days has built and is reminiscent of the COVID-19 lockdown three years ago.

“We’re just going to go stay with in-laws, because we just feel safer out of the area at night,” she said.

Search for fugitive keeps neighbors up at night

Ralph Romig and his wife, who are neighbors with the homeowner who shot at Cavalcante, were home Monday night when their street was suddenly swarmed by police. The couple had no idea the escaped killer was on the run nearby.

Romig did not hear the shooting, but he and his wife “got very little sleep” because of the helicopters circling throughout the night.

“I was just surprised that this is all happening so close to home, that's all,” Romig told USA TODAY. “It's a lot more drama than we usually get.”

He also said it doesn’t surprise him Cavalcante hasn’t been caught despite the exhaustive search, especially around his home, which is full of dense woodlands.

“I just like to give the police the benefit of the doubt. It’s not an easy situation over here,” he said. “Hopefully they'll eventually get him flushed out here before he moves on to the next place that he terrorizes.”

School district cancels classes

Citing the threat posed by the fugitive and the heavy police presence in the area, the Owen J. Roberts School District canceled classes for Tuesday.

"As a result of increased police activity in our community related to the pursuit of an escaped inmate from Chester County Prison, and after consultation with state and local law enforcement, we have made the decision to close all schools and offices in our district today," read a statement to parents from Superintendent Will Stout.

"We know that this situation is stressful and upsetting for our entire community," the statement said. "We thank you once again for your patience, support and understanding throughout the past several days."

Law enforcement received two other calls from nearby residents

Law enforcement was not far from the house when the homeowner called them to report his run-in with Cavalcante on Monday night. They were tracking him in that area after two other incidents believed to be related to the escaped convict were reported by residents.

At 8 p.m., a motorist driving in South Coventry Township said she saw a man crouching near the edge of a wooded area off a roadway. A border patrol team responded and began a search. They found footprints matched the prison-issued shoes worn by Cavalcante, Bivens said. They came upon the shoes nearby.

Another woman called a short while later, notifying police that a pair of work boots had been stolen from her front porch. From that location, police searched north. The shooting was reported about an hour later, Bivens said.

Cavalcante stole van, changed appearance over the weekend

The manhunt for Cavalcante intensified over the weekend after he stole a van, got well outside the police perimeter and was spotted on a home surveillance camera more than a week after he fled the Chester County Prison.

On Saturday night, about an hour after Cavalcante was suspected of stealing a 2020 Ford Transit van, he went to the home of a former co-worker and was seen on a doorbell security camera, Bivens said in a news conference Sunday.

The acquaintance was not home but saw the security footage when he returned and informed police, Bivens said. The footage revealed Cavalcante's new look, which included a clean-shaven face, a hooded sweatshirt, a black baseball-style hat, green prison pants and white shoes.

Cavalcante tried to contact another former co-worker that same night in Phoenixville, more than 20 miles northeast of the Longwood Gardens botanical park area, where a perimeter had been set up that apparently failed to contain him.

Authorities remain silent about people aiding Cavalcante

While Cavalcante has friends and family in Chester County, authorities have been tight-lipped about whether they are cooperating with police or Cavalcante. Bivens on Tuesday declined to comment "on whatever assistance he may or may not have received."

On Sunday, Bivens said Cavalcante’s sister was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that she faces possible deportation over "some immigration issues."

At a news conference Monday, Bivens said the sister "chose not to assist" police in their hunt for her brother; however, he did not say whether she was assisting the fugitive.

“Her arrest was, again, because she's an overstay,” Bivens said. “That was a process that would play out for anyone in her same circumstance. And what I would say is ... she has failed to cooperate and so there was no value in law enforcement keeping her here at this point.”

Authorities defend manhunt strategy

Both the manhunt to find Cavalcante and the security at the facility he escaped have received criticism since Cavalcante fled the prison late last month.

To break out of the Chester County, Cavalcante crab-walked up a wall, blasted through razor wire and crossed a roof. The same route was used in May by another inmate, Igor Bolte, who was arrested within minutes.

Prison officials have pledged to increase staff and install a fence to close the space above the prison yard wall that Bolte and Cavalcante scaled.

The prison tower guard on duty at the time of Cavalcante's escape was fired Friday after 18 years as a corrections officer. He was initially put on administrative leave in the days after Cavalcante’s escape, which went undetected for more than an hour until guards took a head count. The guard also had his personal cellphone on him at the time, a violation of jail protocol, said Chester County spokesperson Michelle Bjork.

At a news conference Monday, authorities defended their strategy in the search for Cavalcante and blamed the complex terrain in the initial perimeters for his ability to elude them.

Top state and federal officials said the perimeter around the area where hundreds had been searching for Cavalcante includes heavily wooded terrain, underground tunnels and drainage ditches. They also said it took more than two hours for news to reach them that he had been spotted outside of the perimeter for the first time.

Bivens continued to stand behind law enforcement's handling of the manhunt Tuesday.

"Our people have done an amazing job. I'm very proud of the work that they've done and continue to do," he said. "Nothing has gone wrong, our agencies are working very well together, and I believe we will be successful in the long run."

Christopher Cann is a breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. To contact him, email ccann@gannett.com.

Contributing: Eric Lagatta, N'dea Yancey-Bragg; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Danelo Cavalcante live updates: Escaped prisoner armed with stolen gun